Will it be New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers or former professional wrestler and Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura?
Perhaps the choice will be TV host, author, and skilled trades advocate Mike Rowe, or the most recently reported candidate, Bay Area lawyer, entrepreneur, and investor Nicole Shanahan, who was married to Google co-founder Sergey Brin.
For months, speculation has mounted regarding who Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will choose as his running mate.
The anticipation has escalated over the past week as the campaign faces a sense of urgency because multiple states require that a vice president be named in order for an independent candidate to collect and submit petitions for ballot access.
On March 13, Mr. Kennedy announced that he had selected a running mate and that the candidate would be introduced on March 26 in Oakland, California.
“Because of your support, this is now the most successful independent campaign in decades. Together, we have shown that Americans really are tired of the vitriol and division. Americans are looking for a leader who can ‘Heal the Divide,’ Mr. Kennedy wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“On Tuesday, March 26th, in Oakland, California, I will announce the partner that I’ve chosen to help lead America into a brighter vision of peace, prosperity, and unity. We would be honored for you to join us for this historic announcement.”
Initial media reports last week noted that Mr. Rodgers, Mr. Ventura, and Mr. Rowe were on Mr. Kennedy’s shortlist. Over the weekend, the focus shifted to Ms. Shanahan, eliciting a response from campaign manager Amaryllis Fox Kennedy, who is married to Robert F. Kennedy III.
“Oh boy, this media! They were sure about Aaron, now they’re sure about Nicole. Tomorrow they’ll be sure about somebody else,” Ms. Kennedy, a former CIA agent, Twitter executive, and tech entrepreneur, said.
“The truth is, they’re just going to have to wait until we all get to celebrate Bobby’s brilliant running mate together in 10 days.
“While I can’t share a name, I will say that I could not be more thrilled with Bobby’s decision. He ran a thorough process and has chosen a vice president who is truly worthy of the American people.”
Ms. Kennedy praised the conversations that the campaign had with Ms. Shanahan, Mr. Rodgers, Mr. Rowe, and Tricia Lindsay, a civil rights attorney who is reportedly on the vice president shortlist, but did not disclose the running mate.
“The one thing I can tell you for certain is that you will be as thrilled as I am with Bobby’s choice and all that it heralds for our shared national future,” she wrote.
Mr. Kennedy launched his campaign in April 2023 with the intent to challenge President Joe Biden for the Democrat Party nomination.
Claiming that the Democratic National Committee was “rigging the primary” and not allowing any candidate to compete against President Biden, Mr. Kennedy announced in October 2023 that he would run as an independent.
As of Feb. 22, the Real Clear Politics average of polls indicated that Mr. Kennedy had 15 percent support in a three-way race with former President Donald Trump (39.8 percent) and President Biden (35.5 percent).
In multiple national polls, Mr. Kennedy has led all presidential candidates in favorability rating, and he also sat atop one national survey of voters younger than 35 and independent voters.
Many pundits noted that Mr. Rodgers could help to further fuel Mr. Kennedy’s support among younger voters.
The 40-year-old Mr. Rodgers is still under contract with the Jets after tearing his Achilles tendon in the 2023 season opener and being sidelined for the rest of the year.
Since the COVID-19 vaccine was introduced, Mr. Rodgers has been outspoken about health issues that can result from taking the shot.
He told podcaster Joe Rogan that he has lost friends and sponsorship deals because of his decision not to get vaccinated.
Last week, Mr. Kennedy told Fox News: “I really like Aaron because, you know, our appeal is to young people, we’re trying to make sure the young people are participating in the political process, that they have hoped for America.
“We want somebody young who’s going to look out for that generation. Aaron Rodgers is battle-tested.
“He’s a critical thinker, and I think we need that at the time as you know the rise of AI [artificial intelligence].
“We need people who understand that you cannot always trust authority just because somebody’s in charge. It doesn’t mean that they’re telling you the truth, and we want somebody who’s going to critically examine.”
Like Mr. Kennedy, Mr. Ventura is an outspoken critic of COVID-19 vaccine mandates and safety.
Mr. Ventura, 72, gained acclaim in the 1970s and 1980s as a professional wrestler known as Jesse “The Body” Ventura.
He appeared in movies and television shows before entering the Minnesota gubernatorial race as a Reform Party headliner. He was a longshot candidate but prevailed and served one term.
In an interview on a YouTube podcast in December 2023, Mr. Ventura was asked if he would accept an offer to run on Mr. Kennedy’s ticket.
“I would give it serious consideration. I won’t tell you ‘yes’ or ’no.' It will depend on my personal life. Would I want to commit myself at 72 for one year of hell [campaigning] and then four years [in office]?” Mr. Ventura said with a grin.
Tyrel Ventura, Mr. Ventura’s son, released a statement on March 12 noting that his father “has not been officially asked to be a [vice presidential] candidate” and that “he will not comment on speculations.”
Late last week, an NBC News interview with Mr. Rowe opened the possibility that he was the vice president pick.
Mr. Rowe, who is best known as the host of Discovery Channel’s “Dirty Jobs,” talked about a meeting that he had had with Mr. Kennedy.
“The bottom line is when a serious person who’s willing to throw themselves into this meat grinder taps you on the shoulder and says, ‘Hey, I would really like you to consider this. Would you?’ You take the meeting,” Mr. Rowe said.
He said that he talked to Mr. Kennedy about a wide range of issues—including public health, foreign policy, and the economy—and said that Mr. Kennedy doesn’t want a vice president who agrees with him on everything.
“The funny thing through all of it was ... I must have reminded him a dozen times that I’m probably not your guy. We don’t agree on this. We don’t agree on that,” he said.
“Look, I’m in business with people in the energy business who he’s sued multiple times over the years. And he laughed and said, ‘Yeah, I know that. I just don’t believe I’m going to find anyone who agrees with me on every single thing. And I really like what you stand for,’” Mr. Rowe said.
Former Democrat presidential candidates Andrew Yang and Tulsi Gabbard declined the offer to join Mr. Kennedy’s ticket, according to The New York Times.Mr. Kennedy also reportedly approached Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) about becoming his running mate.
On March 13, CNN reported that Mr. Kennedy’s shortlist also included motivational speaker Tony Robbins, Mr. Rowe, and Ms. Lindsay.
The Washington Post included those names along with former Republican Sen. Scott Brown of Massachusetts, who also served as U.S. Ambassador to New Zealand and Samoa.
A supporter who attended a fundraiser for Mr. Kennedy posted a video on March 15 on X in which the candidate was asked about the running mate banter and replied: “We have an extraordinary person. I can’t tell you who it is, but it’s not any of the people they’re talking about.
“It’s somebody that is going to surprise people, and I think the country is really going to fall in love with.”
A day later, Mediaite reported that Mr. Kennedy would name Ms. Shanahan as his vice president pick.
Ms. Shanahan, 38, was the primary financial backer behind a $7 million Super Bowl ad promoting Mr. Kennedy that was purchased and created by American Values 2024, a super PAC backing the candidate.
Mediaite reported that the domain name kennedyshanahan.com was registered on March 13.
A longtime donor to Democrat presidential campaigns, Ms. Shanahan founded Clear Access IP (now IPwe), a tech law firm that incorporates AI to analyze and manage client patent portfolios.
In 2020, she left the company and founded the Bia-Echo Foundation, which according to its website invests in “reproductive longevity and equality, criminal justice reform and a healthy and livable planet.”
When asked if Ms. Shanahan would be introduced as the running mate, Stefanie Spear, press secretary for Mr. Kennedy’s campaign, said in a statement to The Epoch Times, “There has been a lot of speculation in the media,” and that the official announcement would be “on March 26 in Oakland, California.”
Ms. Shanahan has not commented on the reports.
When Mr. Kennedy announces his running mate, it will mark another challenge met to help him to gain ballot access.
He currently has qualified for the ballot as an independent in New Hampshire, Utah, and Nevada.
Mr. Kennedy also qualified for the ballot in Hawaii under the We the People party.
In January, Mr. Kennedy’s campaign said it had filed paperwork in six states to create a political party. The move was made to get his name on the ballots with fewer voter signatures than those states require for candidates not affiliated with a party.
The We the People party was established in five states: California, Delaware, Hawaii, Mississippi, and North Carolina. The Texas Independent Party was also formed.
American Values 2024, a super PAC working to get Mr. Kennedy elected, said it has collected enough valid signatures for the candidate to get on the ballot in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, and South Carolina.
“In some states, the signature-gathering window is not open. New York is one of those and is one of the most difficult with ballot access requirements,” Ms. Spear told The Epoch Times.
“We need our VP pick and our electors, and we have to gather 45,000 valid signatures. That means we will collect 72,000 since we have a 60 percent buffer in every state.”
The window for gathering signatures in New York opens on April 16 and closes on May 28, according to Ms. Spear.
Mr. Kennedy has repeatedly said he would be on the ballot in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
To accomplish that feat, as an independent candidate, he must select a running mate before petitioning for ballot access in 26 states and the District of Columbia, according to Ballot Access News.
