By Alexandra Ulmer and Stephanie Kelly
OAKLAND (Reuters) -Independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Tuesday tapped California-based lawyer Nicole Shanahan as his U.S. vice presidential pick, bypassing better-known potential candidates like National Football League star Aaron Rodgers.
The formal announcement, which came during a lengthy campaign event in Oakland, ends a wide-ranging and eclectic search for a running mate.
Kennedy told hundreds of supporters that he wanted a running mate who was athletic, battle-tested, skeptical of regulated industries and who has empathy with the plight of average Americans.
“As your vice president, Nicole will represent the working poor who feel forgotten, who spend every day getting deeper into debt," Kennedy said, noting Shanahan is a self-starter who grew up in a Californian family that relied on food stamps to get by.
Shanahan, an attorney and entrepreneur, brings little Main Street name recognition to Kennedy's ticket, but potential financial firepower and connections in the tech industry and abortion rights activism.
She is president of the private Bia-Echo Foundation, which invests in reproductive health, including helping women bear children at older ages, criminal justice reform and environmental issues.
Kennedy, 70, an environmental lawyer and anti-vaccine activist, is hoping to use the selection to help build credibility and momentum in his long-shot bet that Americans are so frustrated with Democratic President Joe Biden and his Republican rival Donald Trump that they will pick a third party.
Reproductive rights are expected to be a major issue in the 2024 election, as Republican-led states pass tighter abortion restrictions. Republican candidate Donald Trump says he would back a 15-week federal abortion ban.
Shanahan, 38, told the New York Times she was a creative force and financial backer of an ad in this year's Super Bowl, for which Kennedy ended up apologizing to members of his family as it heavily featured his connection to his uncle, former President John F. Kennedy.
The ad was criticized by Kennedy's cousin, Bobby Shriver, who said the late president and Shriver's mother would be "appalled by his deadly health care views" on vaccines.
Shanahan was previously married to Google (NASDAQ:GOOGL) co-founder Sergey Brin.
Brin broke off a long friendship with Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) founder Elon Musk over Musk's romantic relationship with Shanahan, The Wall Street Journal reported in 2022. Musk and Shanahan both denied such a relationship.
Shanahan has previously registered as a Democrat and federal campaign finance records show she has been a frequent donor in past election cycles to Democratic candidates, including Hillary Clinton and Pete Buttigieg.
Groups that support Biden increased efforts to discredit Kennedy around his Tuesday announcement. Clear Choice PAC Inc, a super PAC, launched a website that highlighted Kennedy shares a donor with Trump in billionaire Timothy Mellon, who has given toward both candidates.
Kennedy is backed by 15% of registered voters, versus 39% for Biden and 38% for Trump, according to a recent Reuters/Ipsos poll. The Democratic National Committee and many political strategists say Kennedy's campaign could be a "spoiler" in the 2024 election that would help elect Trump.
Tuesday's event highlighted Kennedy's policy positions, including his desire to re-litigate the COVID-19 lockdowns and attack the pharmaceutical industry.
Julian Salas, a 28-year-old guitar repairman who lives in Oakland, was wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with a hand-written Free Palestine slogan. He voted for Jill Stein in 2020, but it supporting Kennedy this year.
“When I hear him speak he’s the only candidate I feel has real authenticity and a desire to serve,” said Salas. “I typically vote more Democrat but so much of the party is for things I don’t agree with, like vaccine mandates or surveillance.”
KENNEDY'S COUNTDOWN TO THE ELECTION
Kennedy announcement comes as many U.S. states require independent candidates to name their vice presidential nominees before they start the expensive, time-consuming and varied process of getting on state ballots.
Kennedy told Reuters in an interview last week that he was looking for a running mate who shares his perspective on issues like ending the U.S. "war machine," bringing down the national debt and "ending the chronic disease epidemic."
"I am looking for somebody who has good values, who has an open mind, who has high intelligence and inquisitive curiosity," he said, adding that it was important to find somebody outside of the political system.
Kennedy has collected the required amount of signatures to get on the ballot in four states, but a petition in Nevada is being contested. No Labels, another independent group this election cycle, is on the ballot in 18 states, though it has not yet announced its ticket.
Kennedy's campaign has raised over $27 million this election cycle, and American Values 2024, a super PAC that supports Kennedy's candidacy, has raised over $42 million, according to Federal Election Commission data.
"We're not associated with a major political party, so in a lot of ways this announcement is as close to a kickoff of a run down to the general election as anything," Mark Gorton, co-founder of American Values 2024, told Reuters. "I'm hoping there's a lot of excitement generated."
American Values 2024 plans to hold a fundraiser in San Francisco on Tuesday night.
Kennedy's policy proposals include a pledge to make home ownership easier and a crackdown on corporate subsidies, which have helped him gain some traction among voters.