Independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s campaign suggested that lawyer and investor Nicole Shanahan is among the possible contenders to be his running mate over the weekend.
In a lengthy post on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, Kennedy’s campaign director and daughter-in-law, Amaryllis Fox, responded to the rumors about Kennedy choosing Shanahan as his running mate. She mentioned that Shanahan has been discussed as a potential candidate, but declined to reveal Kennedy’s choice.
“Oh boy, this media! They were sure about Aaron, now they’re sure about Nicole. Tomorrow they’ll be sure about somebody else. The truth is, they’re just going to have to wait until we all get to celebrate Bobby’s brilliant running-mate together in ten days,” Fox wrote on X last Saturday.
“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.”
Fox referred to New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who, like Shanahan, is being considered for the vice president position by Kennedy. his campaign confirmed to The Hill last week. The campaign also told The Hill former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura is among the picks, confirming The New York Times’s initial report last week that broke the news.
In the wake of a Mediaite report last Saturday that Kennedy planned to pick Shanahan as his vice president, Fox said the Bay Area lawyer was a part of Kennedy’s “VP discernment process.”
Amaryllis Fox said that Nicole Shanahan has been part of the discussions regarding governance, racial equity, agriculture, and children's and maternal health.
Shanahan is a lawyer from California and the former wife of Google co-founder Sergey Brin. She became associated with Kennedy when it was reported that she contributed to paying for Kennedy's seven-figure Super Bowl advertisement. she helped pay for Kennedy’s seven-figure Super Bowl advertisement.
“Nicole, 37, Aaron, 40, and several unnamed others have been particularly compelling candidates for Bobby because of his strong commitment to champion the interests of young people — and to start by ensuring they have real seats at a table so often dominated by ancient career politicians whose choices have bankrupted future generations,” she said.
The Hill reached out to one of Shanahan’s organizations and Kennedy’s campaign for further comment.
Fox also pointed to Kennedy’s other potential vice presidential picks including TV host and activist Mike Rowe and Tricia Lindsay, who has fought against vaccine mandates. His campaign last week told The Hill other possible selections include Rep. Tul si Gabbard (I-Hawaii), Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and former presidential candidate Andrew Yang.
Kennedy is slated to announce his pick at an event in Oakland, Calif., on Tuesday, March 26.
He first started his campaign for the White House as a Democrat but later became an independent. He has mentioned that he doesn't completely agree with the Democratic ideology and also doesn't completely fit with the Republicans. Kennedy has gathered enough signatures to be on the ballot in New Hampshire, Utah, Hawaii, and Nevada. super PAC claimed it has enough support for the ballots in Georgia, Arizona and South Carolina.
According to The Hill/Decision Desk HQ’s national polling average of three-way match-ups with President Biden and former President Trump — who both passed the threshold of delegates to win their parties’ nominations — Trump leads with 41.1 percent support, Biden comes in second with 38.6 percent, and Kennedy falls behind at 10.8 percent.
