With No Labels Out, Democrats Are Refocusing On 'Dangerous' RFK Jr.

Two prominent Democratic groups, the progressive MoveOn and the centrist Third Way, say they’re refocusing on combating the electoral threat of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s independent presidential campaign, following the news this week that No Labels is abandoning its plans to field a third-party unity ticket in 2024.

“The challenges ahead of us are in some ways even tougher,” Matt Bennett, Third Way’s co-founder and senior vice president of public affairs, told reporters Friday.

“Kennedy cannot be talked out of this race,” Bennett said. “He is going to have a lot of money, and he’s not subject to reason. So we’re going to have to make clear… that voters understand who this guy is, and that is not his father. This is not a safe place to park a vote if you’re dissatisfied with something the president is doing. This guy’s dangerous, and voting for him is tantamount to voting for [Donald] Trump.”

MoveOn’s executive director, Rahna Epting, echoed Bennett’s remarks: “You all know Robert Kennedy Jr.‘s math is no different from No Labels’ math. He has no path to 270 Electoral College votes. His run, like No Labels’, is nothing more than a spoiler.”

The two groups have mounted a coordinated mission aimed at stopping third-party candidates, who could sway a close election. In 2016 and 2020, a handful of votes in swing states tipped the scales toward Trump and Joe Biden, respectively.

Both officials say their strategy will be to educate voters about Kennedy’s squishy position on abortion bans and his running mate Nicole Shanahan’s criticism of in vitro fertilization. They also intend to hammer the idea that Kennedy, a former Democrat who became an independent to run for president, has no path against Biden and Trump.

Neither Bennett