Poll: More Than a Fifth of Voters Would Choose RFK Jr.

If the results of a new Quinnipiac University poll hold true in the election next year, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will be the most successful third-party candidate since 27% of voters chose Teddy Roosevelt in 1912. The poll put Kennedy, who dropped his Democratic primary bid last month to run for president as an independent, at 22% in a hypothetical three-way race with President Biden and former President Trump. Biden had 39% support and Trump had 36%. When progressive activist Cornel West was included, the results were 36% for Biden, 35% for Trump, 19% for Kennedy, and 6% for West. In a hypothetical head-to-head, it was 47% for Biden to 46% for Trump, with others saying they were undecided or wouldn't vote at all.

A poll last month found that Kennedy could swing a tight race for Biden. The Quinnipiac poll also suggests that Kennedy would take more voters from Trump than Biden, but there are some warning signs for Democrats, Politico reports. He was the most popular candidate among voters ages 18 to 34, with 38% support, compared to 32% for Biden and 27% for Trump. At 33%, Kennedy was also leading among independent voters. "With minority and younger voters seeming intrigued, Kennedy, for now, enjoys the kind of demographic support his charismatic father and uncles generated decades ago," says Quinnipiac polling analyst Tim Malloy. (More Robert F. Kennedy Jr. stories.)