Nicole Shanahan is RFK Jr’s Running Mate: Will This Help or Hurt His Campaign?

U. J. Alexander / shutterstock.com
U. J. Alexander / shutterstock.com

If you’re wondering why you’re hearing more about Robert F. Kennedy Jr lately, it’s because he’s the third option that you’ll see on your ballot. Biden will be listed as the candidate by the DNC and Trump will be listed as the candidate by the RNC, assuming nothing crazy happens within the next few months.

RFK Jr, however, is a third-party candidate. He’s who the Biden campaign fears because they know that there will be some votes taken away from Biden.

Think about it. How many times have you heard people say things like, “Ugh, I don’t want Biden or Trump in office.” Those are the people who will give their vote to RFK, Jr.

Considering so many people want a change, it’s possible that Kennedy has a chance.

He’s also beat Trump to the punch in terms of announcing his running mate.

Nicole Shanahan, a lawyer out of California, will be his running mate. She’s located in the San Francisco Bay area, is a tech entrepreneur, and is 38 years old.

She is a huge opponent of IVF treatment and has been outspoken about it for years. This matches with Kennedy being a huge opponent of the COVID vaccine as they are both heavily focused on the health of humans in one way or another.

She is quoted by ABC News as saying, “A lot of the work I do with my foundation [Bia-Echo] and my venture fund is around human and planetary health. If you look at our portfolio, it’s kind of all like, how do we fund women’s health fertility? How do we not just go to these maximalist public health policies that really forget the importance of the individual?”

Comments like this allow us to realize just how broken the healthcare system is. Too many doctors and health institutions fail to place an emphasis on the individual.

So, this is definitely something that strengthens her as a VP candidate, thus strengthening RFK on the ballot.

However, don’t get ready to vote for the duo just yet.

Shanahan has identified as a “lifelong Democrat” and was initially shocked when Kennedy removed himself as a Democratic candidate to become independent.

She voiced concerns that the Democratic National Committee hadn’t been doing a good job but hoped that they could turn things around.

She’s also talked about voting for quite a few of the down-ballot Democrats such as California Rep. Ro Khanna. Khanna, by the way, believes in canceling medical debt, is pro-Israel, and also opposes the TikTok bill, so he’s all over the board.

Paying attention to the Democrats that Shanahan supports is important because it shows that she’s not a die-hard, far-right Democrat. She’s probably been more of an independent than she realized. She just needed the push from RFK Jr to truly see it.

She’s been all-in with Kennedy for a while, even before he chose her as his running mate. She bankrolled more than half of the $7 million that was needed to create the pro-RFK Jr ad that ran during the Super Bowl.

That led to speculation that she was chosen because of the money she had. Kennedy put that idea to rest quickly, though, in a March 18 interview with NewsNation saying, “I would never choose a vice presidential candidate based on how much money that they have.

It’s possible that Shanahan has strengthened the RFK ticket.

So, now, you have to look at the options.

You could choose Biden (age 81) and Harris (age 59) on the Democratic ticket.

You could choose Trump (age 77) and an unknown running mate at this time for the Republican ticket.

Or, you could opt for Kennedy (age 70) and Shanahan (38) as an Independent.

We’ll have to wait until November to see who the country collectively decides is best equipped to lead the United States moving forward.