Joe Biden’s allies are racing to blunt the presidential campaign of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., casting his third-party effort as a stalking-horse bid designed to boost Donald Trump’s chances — even as Kennedy's wide-ranging policy positions make him a threat to both.

Kennedy injected new urgency into the Democratic effort this month by securing a spot on the ballot in Michigan, a swing state vitally important to Biden’s victory plans. Trump narrowly won the state in 2016 and Biden nabbed it back in 2020. If Kennedy draws more votes from one or the other, he could flip the state’s 16 Electoral College votes and maybe the election.

Both sides are racing to define Kennedy. For Democrats, he’s a fringe conspiracy theorist not even backed by his own siblings in the famed political dynasty, a vaccine skeptic who has waffled over prosecutions of Jan. 6, 2021, riot participants. Trump most recently called him an environmental extremist and open-border advocate unworthy of a protest vote against Biden, though he has also touted Kennedy’s Democratic roots to try to hurt the president.

Kennedy’s rise, from unsuccessful primary challenger to mystery-box third party contender, illustrates the volatile nature of the 2024 campaign, with polls showing voters wish they had a choice other than the Biden-Trump rematch.

Kennedy, 70, is viewed favorably by 29% of swing-state voters who opted for Biden in 2020, but viewed favorably by 50% of voters who selected Trump that year, according to the latest Bloomberg News/Morning Consult poll, with similar numbers in Michigan.

“He is a challenge for both sides,” said Jim Messina, who managed Barack Obama’s 2012 reelection bid. “But on the Democratic side, I feel comfortable that, once we get education, we can drive his numbers through the floor.”

Trump’s top campaign adviser, Chris LaCivita, quickly shut down rumors that the former president was considering Kennedy as a running mate, writing on social media that Kennedy was “a leftie loonie that would never be approached to be on the ticket.”

Kennedy donors

Kennedy’s biggest donors come from the world of Trump backers.

Timothy Mellon gave $20 million to American Values 2024, Kennedy’s allied super political action committee, and has also given $15 million to a group backing Trump. Leila Centner, an anti-vaccine activist, gave $1 million. Venture capitalist David Sacks and Jacqueline Sacks donated $93,400 to American Values 2024 through their own political action committee.

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