Dem
51
GOP
49
Nicole Shanahan, running mate of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., said that Kennedy is considering ending his pointless campaign and then go on to help Donald Trump directly, instead of indirectly, which was the original plan. Shanahan noted that current polling shows Kennedy drawing more votes from Trump than from Kamala Harris. That wasn't the game plan at all. It was supposed to be the other way. Damn right-wing voters are too stupid to realize why Kennedy was in there. The money is running out and donations are drying up, so a decision is needed soon.
Kennedy took a big hit last week when a judge said his petition to get on the ballot in New York was invalid because he lied about his address on it. He actually lives in Los Angeles, but used a fake address in Westchester County. This could cause him to be kicked from the ballot in other states as well. If that happens, his campaign is finished.
If Kennedy were to drop out, it might help Trump a little bit because the antivaxxers who preferred Kennedy to Trump would have no where else to go except back to Trump. Maybe. At this point, Junior is polling at 3%-5%, and it's not clear his remaining supporters have coherent policy goals that could be embraced by Trump in order to win over their support. Kennedy already tried to make a deal with Trump (a cabinet slot in trade for his support) but Trump wasn't interested. If Kennedy drops out, Trump will have gotten rid of a rival without having to give up anything in return. That's a deal he could accept.
Kennedy has said he will make an important announcement in Arizona tomorrow. It is possible that he will drop out and endorse Trump. Since he is currently hurting Trump, it is possible that his withdrawal will boost Trump by a point or two. But again, maybe not. It will also make Kennedy look like an incredible hypocrite for attacking Trump all year and then endorsing him. It will validate the opinion of all the people who said all along that he was merely a stalking horse for Trump from the beginning. Kennedy's family will disown him and call him a disgrace to the Kennedy name and legacy. His wife is reported to be furious at the prospect of Junior endorsing Trump, so it could go either way. If he does anyway, Hollywood divorce lawyers will be beating down her door Saturday.
Incidentally, as long as we are on this general subject, Cornel West was booted off the Michigan ballot yesterday, due to problems with his paperwork. He is only polling at around 0.5% in that state, but most of those votes are probably coming out of Kamala Harris' hide. There is one time in the last 6 cycles where the state was close enough that 0.5% of the vote would have mattered, and that was 2016, when Hillary Clinton lost by 0.23%. So, it's not impossible that the bad news for West becomes meaningful in November. (V)