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X/@RobertKennedyJr
New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers, WWE Hall of Famer Jesse Ventura, and Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) are all on the shortlist to be independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s running mate, Kennedy’s campaign has confirmed.
The Kennedy campaign – which recently suffered a staff exodus amid complaints over leadership and “lavish spending” – confirmed to the New York Times on Tuesday that Rodgers and Ventura are both in the running.
Kennedy will reportedly announce reveal his running mate within the next two weeks.
According to unnamed sources “familiar with the discussions,” both Rodgers and Ventura “have welcomed the overtures.”
Kennedy told the Times he had been in contact with Rodgers “pretty continuously” and had spoken to Ventura, who served as governor of Minnesota between 1999 and 2003, over the past month.
The New York Times reported that Kennedy had spoken to “at least a half-dozen people” about becoming his running mate, including Paul, former Hawaii congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, and 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang.
While the Kennedy campaign told the Hill that Paul, Gabbard, and Yang are all on Kennedy’s “short list,” the New York Times reported that all three had “turned him down,” and that only Rodgers and Ventura had expressed interest in becoming Kennedy’s running mate.
Rodgers has repeatedly expressed support for Kennedy’s campaign and the two men were photographed together in March 2023.
— Aaron Rodgers (@AaronRodgers12) April 19, 2023
.💪🏼❤️ https://t.co/pAZRRLJHCy
— Aaron Rodgers (@AaronRodgers12) March 17, 2023
Following Kennedy’s video response to President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address last week, Rodgers commented, “This is presidential.”
The New York Times observed on Tuesday that the domain name “kennedyrodgers.com” had recently been registered, however it is unclear whether the domain was registered by Kennedy’s campaign or an unrelated party.
Kennedy campaign manager Amaryllis Fox Kennedy appeared to suggest on Tuesday that Kennedy would announce his running mate soon in an effort to gain access to state ballots.
“Part of the anti-democratic strategy of requiring petitions for ballot access — when polling or small donor thresholds would be more accurate and less onerous — is forcing independent candidates to name a VP far earlier than a two-party candidate would need to,” she told the Washington Post.