RFK Jr. dealt a huge blow to Americans who want a third party

Record numbers of Americans want to see independent candidates and additional political parties shake up our political system. Some of us hoped that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. would learn from history — like Ross Perot more than 30 years ago — and mount a presidential campaign strong enough to at least make a dent in the power of the two major parties.

By giving up and endorsing Donald Trump, RFK Jr. didn’t just abandon voters like me. He went to the dark side. And I say that as someone running for office in Texas as a Republican. (The New York Times calls me “an unusual candidate.”)

Kennedy’s hypocrisy is, in a word, Trumpian. He previously called Trump a “terrible president” with “absurd and terrifying” policies. In a text exchange, he reportedly described Trump as “a terrible human being. The worse president ever and barely human. He is probably a sociopath.”

Kennedy also recently praised Kamala Harris’s economic plan and reportedly tried to meet with her about a Cabinet position. When she rejected him, he gave his support to Trump. His sister Kerry Kennedy may be right about his “desperate need for affection and esteem and political power.”

No matter what his reasoning was, it’s clear that the party duopoly — which often feels more like a monopoly — will remain entrenched until voters demand a change. That will take a groundswell of grassroots activism.

Far more Americans identify as independents than with either major party. And last fall, Gallup found that 63 percent of Americans agree “the Republican and Democratic parties do ‘such a poor job’ of representing the American people that ‘a third major party is needed.’” That was the highest number in 20 years of asking the question. Republicans were the dominant force behind the increase.

As a disaffected Republican myself, I was not surprised. And things have gotten even worse this year. As I wrote in Newsweek, conservative women are fed up with the GOP, especially its attacks on abortion rights. I consider myself personally pro-life, but want the government to keep out of this stuff, as do 70 percent of Republican women. IVF is in danger as well, which would place parenthood out of reach for millions.

These issues are fueling Democrats’ campaigns, but it’s not as though the Democratic Party provides an ideal home for people like me either. Many people, not just women, feel politically homeless.

While RFK Jr. was far from a perfect candidate, I was among those hoping that his prominence, wealth and family name could help propel his candidacy further along. Even if he couldn’t win, I hoped that he could garner enough votes that both parties would have to listen to new voices calling for more practical policies rather than rewarding extremists in each side’s base.

I hoped people like me could come together to help break what increasingly seems like an oligarchy, in which our politics are far too influenced by certain wealthy, powerful interests. President John Adams’s fear has come to life.

Instead, the RFK Jr. race was a colossal waste — of time, resources and tens of millions of dollars. And what is there to show for it? He’s trying to argue that he would have real influence in a Trump administration. There’s obviously no reason to believe that. Who influences Trump? Who even lasts a full Trump term? And in any administration, how many members of the Cabinet really have major relevance on the direction a president takes?

Organizing independents or growing a third party in America will require not only peeling people away from the two parties, but also reaching out to those who could vote but don’t.

A truly viable candidate in a national election might help bring more people to the polls. In 2020, the Knight Foundation looked into “the 100 million Americans who don’t vote.” It found that 33 percent would vote Democratic; 30 percent would vote Republican, and 18 percent would vote for a third party — considerably more than third-party candidates currently get. A survey of those who sat out the 2020 presidential election found a top reason was dislike for the candidates or the issues.

Around the country, there are people like me eschewing the national and state parties but nevertheless running for office as a member of one of those parties. At least we can try to make a difference from the inside. But in the long run, to build a stronger America, we need to expand real choice — and that includes at the ballot box.

Sarah Stogner is a Republican candidate for district attorney in Texas’s 143rd Judicial District.