Robert F Kennedy Jr announces attorney and investor Nicole Shanahan as running mate

Independent presidential candidate Robert F Kennedy Jr has announced that Silicon Valley investor and attorney Nicole Shanahan will be his running mate.

Mr Kennedy, an environmental lawyer and anti-vaccine conspiracy theorist, made the announcement at an event in Oakland, California on Tuesday. In the last few weeks, the Kennedy campaign has spoken to more than half a dozen possible candidates, with the early favourites including New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers and former wrestler and Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura.

Ms Shanahan, 38, became the favourite late in the process even as she was connected to his campaign and helped pay for a Super Bowl ad backing Mr Kennedy, The New York Times noted.

The candidate told the paper that he had also been in touch with Scott Brown, a former Republican Massachusetts Senator, as well as anti-vaccine mandate attorney Tricia Lindsay, and former Democratic Hawaii Representative Tulsi Gabbard who has left the party to become an independent. She recently spoke at the Conservative Political Action Conference. The campaign also spoke to the host of the TV show Dirty Jobs, Mike Rowe.

Mediaite reported that Ms Shanahan was the expected running mate on 16 March.

The pick is being derided by Democrats as a way to bring in money for the campaign.

“I wanted a vice president who shared my passion for wholesome healthy foods, chemical-free, for regenerative agriculture, for good soils,” Mr Kennedy said on Tuesday.

“I found exactly the right person… she has used over the past several years cutting edge technology including AI to calculate the catastrophic health consequences of toxins in our soil, our air, our water and our food,” he added.

Nicole Shanahan waves as she becomes the