A Break From the Two Party System?

 

    Although the primary elections for both the Democratic and Republican parties have concluded, some media outlets have suggested that the winner of the 2024 election might not be from one of the two major parties. With many Americans expressing discontent when it comes to the prospects of former President Trump and President Biden, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (RFK) has become the alternative to the conventional party, with some media outlets contending that RFK does have a chance at the presidency while others deny any chance of another Kennedy presidency.

    In the article "Republicans are starting to worry about RFK Jr." authors Lisa Kshinsky Brittany Gibson, Jessica Piper, and Steven Shepard present RFK Jr.s chances as a real threat to Trump. The article argues that recent polling suggests that RFK Jr. is "drawing evenly from both of the major party candidates" and that his ability to steal votes from both parties could allow him to upset the election (Gibson 2024).

    Opposite of Kshinsky and her associate's article, Ariel Edwards-Levy presents RFK Jr.'s chances as all hype without substance in the article "Polls show substantial support for candidates like RFK Jr. How much of it is real?" Edwards-Levy attributes RFK Jr.'s surge in popularity is a result of his last name which evokes a call back to the Kennedy administration in the 1960s. Edwards-Levy utilizes polling which shows that "31% of registered voters said they hadn’t heard enough about him (RFK Jr.) to form an opinion" suggesting that rather than his popularity being attached to policy or discontent of the two-party system it just might be his name (Edwards-Levy 2024).

References: 

Kshinsky, Lisa, et al. Republicans Are Starting to Worry about RFK Jr.., www.politico.com/news/2024/04/22/republicans-are-starting-to-worry-about-rfk-jr-00153763. Accessed 24 Apr. 2024.

Edwards-Levy, Ariel. “Analysis: Polls Show Substantial Support for Candidates like RFK Jr.. How Much of It Is Real? | CNN Politics.” CNN, Cable News Network, 22 Apr. 2024, www.cnn.com/2024/04/22/politics/polls-rfk-jr-third-party-independent/index.html.