Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s brief attempt to secure the Libertarian nomination for president ended swiftly, as he garnered support from only 19 delegates, or 2.07%, at the party’s DC convention on Sunday. His nomination was cut short in the first round.
Earlier that day, Kennedy, 70, was unexpectedly nominated from the convention floor by a delegate. This announcement was met with waves of boos from the crowd, foreshadowing his disappointing outcome.
Kennedy’s nomination for the Libertarian Party presidential ticket was short-lived, securing just 2.07% of the delegates in the first round of voting.
On Friday, Kennedy delivered a fiery speech to convention delegates, criticizing former President Donald Trump, 77, for his handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and his failure to pardon WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and whistleblower Edward Snowden.
Trump’s name was also put forth on the convention floor as a potential nominee, but the suggestion was quickly dismissed by Libertarian Party Chair Angela McArdle, who declared him ineligible due to the absence of nominating papers.
Trump spoke before the rowdy delegates on Saturday afternoon, facing a mix of boos and chants of “We want Trump.” The former president urged the crowd to nominate him, saying, “Only if you want to win. Maybe you don’t want to win.” Despite his appeal, Trump received only six delegate votes as a write-in candidate. Trump appeared unconcerned, stating that most Libertarians would vote for him in the general.
Under convention rules, candidates receiving less than 5% of the vote were eliminated in the first round.
Kennedy had been meeting with Libertarian Party officials since last summer, hoping to leverage their ballot access in November. The eventual Libertarian candidate will be on the ballot in 38 states, compared to just six for Kennedy so far.
Kennedy, a former Democrat who left the party in October to seek the presidential nomination as an independent, received 14% support in a recent Quinnipiac University national poll of registered voters. However, the same poll indicated that his supporters were more likely to abandon him than those of any other candidate before Election Day.