![\"\"](\"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/original_rfk_jr_11.jpg\")
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Hannah Nightingale | PM
\nWashington DC<\/p>\n
Robert F Kennedy Jr, who launched his campaign for the Democrat presidential nomination in April, reportedly has plans to announce a run as an independent candidate.<\/p>\n
According to Mediaite<\/a>, Kennedy plans to make the announcement on October 9 in Philadelphia, with a text message viewed by the outlet stating that his campaign is planning “attack ads” against the Democrat National Committee to “pave the way” for his announcement.<\/p>\n “Bobby feels that the DNC is changing the rules to exclude his candidacy so an independent run is the only way to go,” a Kennedy campaign insider told the outlet.<\/p>\n On Saturday, the New York Times<\/a> published a piece stating that Kennedy met with Libertarian Party chair Angela McArdle in July, at a Memphis conference.<\/p>\n “He emphasized that he was committed to running as a Democrat but said that he considered himself very libertarian,” McArdle said, adding that “We\u2019re aligned on a lot of issues,” including the threat of the “deep state.”<\/p>\n “My perspective is that we are going to stay in touch in case he does decide to run,” Ms. McArdle said. “And he can contact me at any time if that\u2019s the case.”<\/p>\n “It would be very bad” if Kennedy runs as a Libertarian, said Matt Bennett, a co-founder of Third Way, a Democrat group helping coordinate efforts to stop the No Labels group who is also trying to run a third-party ticket.<\/p>\n “We\u2019ve been very clear that third parties in close elections can be very dangerous and would almost certainly hurt the president. That would be true of a No Labels candidate and it would be true of RFK.”<\/p>\n