Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
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Jon Cherry/Getty Images North America
Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has filed paperwork to withdraw his name from Arizona’s ballot, a sign his long-shot candidacy may be ending.
Kennedy had already planned to give remarks Friday in Arizona, on his “path forward.”
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump will also be in Arizona Friday, and Kennedy’s running mate, Nicole Shanahan, recently said that she and Kennedy may “walk away right now and join forces with Donald Trump.”
Trump told CNN in an interview following Shanahan’s comments that he would consider giving Kennedy a role in a potential second Trump administration if Kennedy dropped out and endorsed him.
Kennedy holds some policy positions at odds with Trump, such as on climate change, and originally ran for the Democratic presidential nomination, but later announced he would run as an independent.
Kennedy, a scion of a famous American political family who is now known broadly as an anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist, vowed to upend the two-party system with his campaign, but has failed to gain traction, especially after Vice President Harris replaced President Biden on the Democratic ticket.
In the latest NPR/PBS News/Marist poll conducted earlier this month, he enjoyed 5% support.
It’s unclear how a Kennedy exit may alter the presidential race, though many recent polls show Kennedy drawing slightly more support away from Trump than Harris.