Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has picked wealthy Silicon Valley lawyer Nicole Shanahan as his running mate, he announced Tuesday.
“I’m bringing on someone with deep inside knowledge of how big tech uses AI to manipulate the public,” Kennedy said. “I want a partner with strong ideas about how to reverse those dire threats to democracy and our freedoms.”
[time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”]Kennedy’s running mate choice comes at a pivotal point in his campaign as he seeks to secure a place on the ballot nationwide and continue financing his long-shot bid for the White House. In recent weeks he had floated attention-grabbing potential running mates in NFL quarterback Aaron Rodgers, “Dirty Jobs” star Mike Rowe, and former WWE wrestler and Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura. He opted to go with Shanahan, who runs a private foundation focused on reproductive rights, criminal justice, and the environment, and was once married to Google co-founder Sergey Brin.
Shanahan, 38, has no political experience but offers substantial financial firepower and valuable connections in the tech industry. In February, she gave $4 million to a Kennedy-aligned Super PAC for a controversial 30-second Super Bowl ad in support of Kennedy’s candidacy. The ad, which she helped produce, was criticized by several members of Kennedy’s family for repurposing a 1960 campaign ad for his uncle, former President John F. Kennedy. Shanahan has also previously donated to Democratic candidates and causes, including $25,000 to President Joe Biden’s fundraising committee in 2020 and $19,400 to the Democratic National Committee that same year. She has also previously donated to the campaigns of Hillary Clinton, Marianne Williamson, and Pete Buttigieg.
Kennedy campaign staffers told TIME ahead of his vice presidential announcement that he was looking to pick someone who will represent the future, and is aware of the technical challenges facing the country, including the rise of artificial intelligence. Shanahan, who was raised on welfare in a single-parent household in Oakland, has taken a particular interest in regenerative agriculture and carbon sequestration, arguing that soil health and gut biome are critical to increasing reproductive longevity.
“I wanted a vice president who shared my passion for wholesome healthy foods, chemical-free, regenerative agriculture for good soils,” Kennedy said. “I found exactly the right person, and among other things she has used over the past several years cutting edge technology including AI to calculate the catastrophic health consequences of toxins in our soil or air or water in our food technology.”
Most polls show Kennedy tracking in the double digits, better than any independent candidate since Ross Perot in 1992, with his long-shot bid attracting some voters disaffected by the two major parties. A former Democrat turned independent candidate, Kennedy, 70, has nurtured an eclectic coalition of rightwing fans, New Age influencers, anti-vaccine activists, and Silicon Valley pundits. Political analysts warn that his candidacy could cause some headaches for Democrats and Republicans by taking votes in critical states.
Kennedy’s vice president announcement comes amid a months-long push to get him on the ballot in all 50 states, most of which require independent candidates to have a running mate. Currently, he has only secured access to the ballot in Utah—potentially limiting his reach unless he swiftly navigates the costly complex ballot access requirements in other states. His campaign estimates the effort will cost more than $15 million and will require gathering more than 900,000 signatures nationwide.
Kennedy had more than $4.8 million left in his campaign account as of the end of January, according to recent filings with the Federal Election Commission. American Values 2024, the super PAC backing Kennedy, recently told TIME it has gathered “more than the required number of signatures for RFK Jr.’s ballot access in Arizona, Michigan, Georgia and South Carolina.”
