Robert F. Kennedy has picked San Francisco-area attorney and entrepreneur Nicole Shanahan as his running mate for the 2024 election cycle; which is likely one of the most short sighted VP picks in modern history.

RFK Picked a Radical Leftist Running Mate

As one might expect from her geographic region, Nicole Shanahan is a partisan Democrat who happens to be a conspiracy theorist about vaccines; which is why she decided to back Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. rather than President Biden. In fact, this is the first time she has ever supported anyone that isn't a Democrat. According to Open Secrets, she has only ever donated to Democratic candidates; and when she donates, she donates in large sums (thousands of dollars). The only other donations she has made are to:

• Californians for Public Safety and Rehabilitation: a ballot measure that made it easier for convicts to get out of prison on parole in California
• American Intellectual Property Law Association: a PAC that focuses heavily on Intellectual Property rights (which I appreciate as an artist)
• ActBlue: A fundraising platform for Democratic candidates and progressive causes
• DNC: The Democratic National Committee, the official Democratic party organization
• TOP PAC: The Texas Organizing Project PAC tries to push Texas in a progressive direction
• EMILY's List: An infamous Pro-Abortion PAC

Clearly, Nicole Shanahan has shown her leftist political values in her $4,284,300 of political donations over the last eight years. Unfortunately for Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., those values held by his running mate are not going to help him build a bi-partisan coalition for November. Without a bi-partisan coalition, the Kennedy-Shanahan ticket has no chance at victory.

Why RFK Chose Nicole Shanahan

Kennedy's Super Bowl commercial was wildly popular and Nicole Shanahan not only worked on the ad (likely without much help), but she also put up the $4,000,000 to get it on the air. However, RFK, Jr. didn't pick Nicole Shanahan as his Vice Presidential candidate simply out of gratitude. The choice was simply more practical.

The biggest hurdle facing RFK Jr's presidential campaign is ballot access. Most states require a massive signature gathering effort for an independent candidate to get on the ballot. This is why you saw some reports that RFK might seek the Libertarian nomination; which would get him on the ballot in more states without that signature effort. However, I doubt the Libertarian party would pick RFK simply because he's against vaccine mandates. I think they're even less likely to support the RFK ticket now when his running mate is a radical Democrat. Why risk losing what little hope he had of winning the Libertarian nomination by picking Nicole Shanahan?

The answer is pretty obvious. Nicole Shanahan has the financial resources to pay for the volunteers and attorneys necessary to collect ballot access signatures, get them to the state, and fight the challenges that Biden loyalists in blue states like New York and California are already preparing to take to court.

However, once RFK, Jr. has ballot access, Nicole Shanahan is not going to be able to offer much as a running mate.

Of course, it's also difficult not be crass and cynical when RFK Jr., who has a history of womanizing behavior and Nicole Shanahan allegedly destroyed her marriage by having an affair with Elon Musk.

Who Should RFK Have Picked?

Nikki Haley and Liz Cheney were never on RFK's short list, likely because they weren't independently wealthy enough to pay for his ballot access campaign. However, I think either of those women would have made for a formidable ticket that, if they could have gotten on the ballot, would have had a real shot at winning some states. Although I doubt he would want anything to do with this campaign, Mitt Romney would have been another great candidate to run alongside. Mitt Romney has experience in the Senate, leading as a Governor, and in the spotlight of a Presidential campaign. He is also independently wealthy enough to pay for that ballot access campaign that likely led to RFK's decision to go with Nicole Shanahan.