The independent candidate received just 2 percent of the votes and was kicked out in the first round.
Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. was swiftly eliminated from the Libertarian Party’s presidential nominee race in the first round, thus putting to rest expectations that the candidate would be backed by a major party.
The Libertarians had put up multiple candidates as potential nominees, including Mr. Kennedy and political activist Chase Oliver.
On May 27, the party announced that the delegates chose Mr. Oliver as their presidential candidate after seven rounds of voting. Mr. Kennedy was kicked out of the race in the first round after receiving only 2 percent of the votes, with 19 delegates reportedly backing him.
After the results were published, RFK Jr. said he appreciated the party’s considering him.
“What an unexpected honor to wake up this morning to a groundswell in the Libertarian Party seeking to nominate me,” he said in a May 27 X post.
What an unexpected honor to wake up this morning to a groundswell in the Libertarian Party seeking to nominate me. I would have accepted the nomination if offered because independents and third parties need to unite right now to reclaim our country from the corrupt two-party…
— Robert F. Kennedy Jr (@RobertKennedyJr) May 26, 2024
“I would have accepted the nomination if offered because independents and third parties need to unite right now to reclaim our country from the corrupt two-party system.”
Mr. Kennedy spoke at the Libertarian National Convention on May 24, which he said was a “high point” in his campaign as an independent presidential candidate. He admitted that his views on some of the issues may conflict with what the Libertarian Party stands for.
The candidate claimed that both he and the party were “natural allies” due to the “core values of peace, free speech, and civil liberties.”
“Together we will break the stranglehold of the Uniparty,” he said.
The term Uniparty suggests that Democrats and Republicans, despite being in opposition, actually collude to work for a single establishment.
The candidate said he would pardon prominent document leakers Julian Assange and Edward Snowden as well as dismantle wasteful and abusive bureaucracies while restoring the authority of the Bill of Rights if elected president.
In his speech at the convention, Mr. Kennedy attacked President Trump and President Biden for not respecting the U.S. Constitution when the country faced the COVID-19 pandemic.
