Mr. Kennedy’s allies hope his choice of a wealthy Silicon Valley lawyer to be his running mate will inject new energy and financial support into his independent bid for the White House.
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Nicole Shanahan speaking on Tuesday in Oakland, Calif., after Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced her as his running mate.
In an explicit play for young voters and Americans disillusioned by the state of the country’s politics, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on Tuesday named Nicole Shanahan, a 38-year-old Silicon Valley lawyer, investor and political unknown, as his running mate in his independent presidential bid.
The selection of Ms. Shanahan brings youth and an outsider’s idealism to the ticket for Mr. Kennedy, the political scion whose long-shot White House campaign is threatening to complicate the electoral calculus for both President Biden and former President Donald J. Trump.
But it also brings a source of financial support: Ms. Shanahan, who was formerly married to the Google co-founder Sergey Brin, has already contributed more than $4.5 million to help Mr. Kennedy’s bid. Mr. Kennedy faces a costly effort to get on the ballot in all 50 states, as he says he will try to do. And he had a tighter timeline to name a vice-presidential choice, because some states require a full ticket to be on the petition for independent candidates to be placed on the ballot.
“I found exactly the right person,” Mr. Kennedy said at a rally in Oakland, Calif., as he revealed his choice. Praising Ms. Shanahan as a “gifted administrator” and a “fierce warrior mom” with experience navigating issues of artificial intelligence and intellectual property, he described her as “the daughter of immigrants who overcame every daunting obstacle and went on to achieve the highest levels of the American dream.”
Taking the stage more than a half-hour after Mr. Kennedy had announced her as his running mate, Ms. Shanahan echoed many of the themes of his campaign, including skepticism of vaccines, concerns about chronic disease and corruption in America, calls for a cleaner environment and the elimination of pesticides and genetically modified foods.
“The very failure of both parties to do their job, to protect their founding values, has contributed to the decline of this country in my lifetime,” said Ms. Shanahan, who described herself as a lifelong Democrat. “Maybe that’s why I see so many Republicans disillusioned with their party as I become disillusioned with mine. If you are one of those disillusioned Republicans, I welcome you to join me, a disillusioned Democrat, in this movement to unify and heal America.”
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