Former Bill Clinton adviser Mark Penn criticized the Democratic National Committee (DNC) for prioritizing attacking third-party candidates rather than improving President Joe Biden’s dismal approval ratings.
The DNC and Biden’s reelection team are engaged in initiatives to counter third-party candidates, particularly Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who they view as threats to the president’s reelection. Third-party candidates’ impact on the 2024 presidential election is challenging to predict so the DNC should turn their efforts toward Biden’s performance instead, Penn asserted on Fox News’ “America’s Newsroom.”
“[Kennedy] seems to have a pretty marginal impact, even though he is a significant, fairly liked alternative candidate who’s breaking double digits … This is a pretty surprising development that he starts out in double digits like that,” Penn said.
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Kennedy is polling better than any independent candidate since 1992, Axios reported.
“If I were the DNC, I’d worry about that other four or five points that Biden is behind,” he added. “What is the campaign doing about the core issues, the poor job performance, inflation and immigration? Because by the time you get to the effective third-party candidates, who knows? He could shoot up like a firecracker and then explode like a firecracker and shoot right down. It’s really unpredictable. The one thing you know is that the job rating’s in the low 40s, he’s got issues to make up on. And that’s what they should be focusing on. They pissed RFK off.”
The DNC is forming a team in March focused on communication strategy, opposition research and legal efforts to combat third-party and independent candidates in 2024, NBC reported. The committee is also establishing a group of lawyers to monitor how independent candidates are seeking ballot access, according to The New York Times.
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“Justice for All Party” candidate Cornel West, Green Party candidate Jill Stein and a No Labels “Unity Ticket” are notching ballot wins in states across the country.
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