# If RFK, Jr. Drops out, how does this impact the election? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Tags:** trump\ **Created:** [August 21, 2024, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-rfk-jr-drops-out-how-does-this-impact-the-election/1006004 "2024-08-21T16:03:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2024, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-rfk-jr-drops-out-how-does-this-impact-the-election/1006004/41 "2024-08-23T17:24:48Z")
His last name is Kennedy. That’s all some people need. ---
**Author:** ![bordelond](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bordelond/32/150_2.png) [@bordelond](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bordelond)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2024, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-rfk-jr-drops-out-how-does-this-impact-the-election/1006004/42 "2024-08-23T17:25:32Z")
That and “_not Biden or Trump!_” ---
**Author:** ![Beckdawrek](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/beckdawrek/32/3647_2.png) [@Beckdawrek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beckdawrek)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2024, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-rfk-jr-drops-out-how-does-this-impact-the-election/1006004/43 "2024-08-23T17:31:05Z")
Such a blatant waste of humanity. The Kennedys are noted for their service. Why can’t they do it silently. Oh wait!! Most of them do. RFKjr needs to find a thing, I don’t know? maybe feeding the hungry or donating to good causes and shut his freaking pie hole. I got a spam thing, this morning, from him wanting me to sign a petition to have Biden release the reports and files on JFKs assassination. Let the man RIP. Good grief! ---
**Author:** ![anny\_m](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/96bed5/32.png) [@anny\_m](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anny_m)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2024, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-rfk-jr-drops-out-how-does-this-impact-the-election/1006004/44 "2024-08-23T18:14:50Z")
The strongest evidence for the brain worms interfering with his cognitive abilities would be that Trump promised him a cabinet post if he withdrew and Kennedy for some reason actually believed that would happen. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2024, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-rfk-jr-drops-out-how-does-this-impact-the-election/1006004/45 "2024-08-23T21:26:31Z")
This was from Cheryl Hines Instagram in 2020: [![](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GVsKFvOWIAAxO0F?format=jpg&name=medium) ](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GVsKFvOWIAAxO0F?format=jpg&name=medium) ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2024, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-rfk-jr-drops-out-how-does-this-impact-the-election/1006004/46 "2024-08-23T21:32:17Z")
A high school friend posted this on Facebook. Another high school, uh, _acquaintace_ responded, “It’d make more sense if the shadow was of an Indian girl.” The blowback was fierce. I pointed out that the image was an homage to “The Problem We All Live With,” a 1964 painting by Norman Rockwell, and that the “HAHA SHE’S INDIAN” response just strengthened the image’s tie to the painting’s title. ---
**Author:** ![Mallard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Mallard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mallard)\ **Post date:** [August 23, 2024, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-rfk-jr-drops-out-how-does-this-impact-the-election/1006004/47 "2024-08-23T22:17:07Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > This was from Cheryl Hines Instagram in 2020: > > [https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GVsKFvOWIAAxO0F?format=jpg&name=medium](https://pbs.twimg.com/media/GVsKFvOWIAAxO0F?format=jpg&name=medium) As Archie Bunker once asked…“Is that a shot”? ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2024, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-rfk-jr-drops-out-how-does-this-impact-the-election/1006004/48 "2024-08-24T00:05:05Z")
Not a bad article here: > **[Will RFK Jr. help Trump by dropping out and endorsing him? Here's what the...](https://www.yahoo.com/news/will-rfk-jr-help-trump-by-dropping-out-and-endorsing-him-heres-what-the-polls-say-200009239.html)** > > Kennedy's exit probably won’t affect the race in a dramatic way. But small margins in key swing states have decided both of Trump’s previous presidential elections. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2024, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-rfk-jr-drops-out-how-does-this-impact-the-election/1006004/49 "2024-08-24T00:57:23Z")
from some site where people post quips > [@John Pavolvitz](#): > > RFK Jr endorsing Trump is like E. Coli endorsing diarrhea. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2024, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-rfk-jr-drops-out-how-does-this-impact-the-election/1006004/50 "2024-08-24T01:53:54Z")
Faster, more efficient, and guaranteed to kill 'em in the polls…or soon after. ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2024, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-rfk-jr-drops-out-how-does-this-impact-the-election/1006004/51 "2024-08-24T02:08:42Z")
If I were religious I’d want to go to a church with a pastor like John Pavlovitz. He does a great job of using Christianity and the Bible to refute the fundamentalists who use the Bible as an excuse to hate people and enrich themselves at the expense of the poor, and he has absolutely no patience for maga. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2024, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-rfk-jr-drops-out-how-does-this-impact-the-election/1006004/52 "2024-08-24T03:56:09Z")
> [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](#): > > The question remains: Why? If it is out of sheer spite; how does he even put a fig leaf on that? Because his ego is more important to him than anything else, and the Democrats spurned him while Trump has offered him a cabinet position. ---
**Author:** ![Great\_Antibob](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47c2d/32.png) [@Great\_Antibob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Great_Antibob)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2024, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-rfk-jr-drops-out-how-does-this-impact-the-election/1006004/53 "2024-08-24T04:01:00Z")
I doubt he was ‘offered’ anything. He almost certainly asked for it himself (he tried the Dems first, after all, and was publicly rebuffed) and then went to and got a promise from Trump that’s worth the paper it wasn’t printed on. ---
**Author:** ![Mallard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Mallard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mallard)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2024, 4:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-rfk-jr-drops-out-how-does-this-impact-the-election/1006004/54 "2024-08-24T04:46:29Z")
RFK jrs dad and uncle Jack must be doing a lot of spins in their graves about now. ---
**Author:** ![filmore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7993a0/32.png) [@filmore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmore)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2024, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-rfk-jr-drops-out-how-does-this-impact-the-election/1006004/55 "2024-08-24T18:37:50Z")
I wonder how many of his voters are actually motivated enough to cast their vote? He was never a candidate in serious contention. I could imagine a lot of his “supporters” are people who aren’t really engaged in the political process. They may support him and his ideas in an abstract way, but that’s easy. But are they the type of people who will actually take the time and make the effort to go stand in line to cast their vote? Perhaps it’s similar to how people will say they’ll volunteer to help with park cleanup or whatever, but on the day of the cleanup, only 1/4th of the people actually show up to do the work. In past elections, does anyone know how closely 3rd party candidate results synced up with polling? For instance, if a 3rd party candidate had 5% support in the polls leading up to the election, did they end up getting about 5% of the vote? ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2024, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-rfk-jr-drops-out-how-does-this-impact-the-election/1006004/56 "2024-08-24T18:43:41Z")
Here is 1992: > **[Polling for United States presidential elections](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polling_for_United_States_presidential_elections#1992)** > > Gallup was the first polling organization to conduct accurate opinion polling for United States presidential elections. Gallup polling has often been accurate in predicting the outcome of presidential elections and the margin of victory for the winner. However, it missed some close elections: 1948, 1976 and 2004, the popular vote in 2000, and the likely-voter numbers in 2012. The month section in the tables represents the month in which the opinion poll was conducted. D represents the De After... ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2024, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-rfk-jr-drops-out-how-does-this-impact-the-election/1006004/57 "2024-08-24T19:31:46Z")
> **[Third-party and independent candidates for president often fall short of...](https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2024/06/27/third-party-and-independent-candidates-for-president-often-fall-short-of-early-polling-numbers/)** > > Given the number of third-party and independent candidates in the 2024, we examined how such candidates fared in past elections. ---
**Author:** ![eschereal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eschereal/32/18939_2.png) [@eschereal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/eschereal)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2024, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-rfk-jr-drops-out-how-does-this-impact-the-election/1006004/58 "2024-08-24T21:18:50Z")
In a [related argument](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/foo-fighters-my-hero-trump-rfk-jr-b2601348.html), Individual-ONE claims to have licensed _My Hero_ to play as RFK Jr was introduced to fireworks, while Dave Grohl says the Foo Fighters would not have approved its use and will donate the royalties they are due to the Harris/Walz campaign. Also, I heard that Jr was introduced at a Turning Point rally, which seems a long way from where he used to be politically. ---
**Author:** ![Sherrerd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sherrerd/32/8_2.png) [@Sherrerd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sherrerd)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2024, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-rfk-jr-drops-out-how-does-this-impact-the-election/1006004/59 "2024-08-24T21:21:54Z")
> [@eschereal](#): > > Also, I heard that Jr was introduced at a Turning Point rally, which seems a long way from where he used to be politically. There’s the theory that Jr used to have a political position, but the worm ate all the relevant brain cells. Then there’s the theory that Jr never had any views at all other than ‘_how can I use politics to get fame and cash_?’ ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [August 24, 2024, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-rfk-jr-drops-out-how-does-this-impact-the-election/1006004/60 "2024-08-24T23:33:13Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > Then there’s the theory that Jr never had any views at all other than ‘_how can I use politics to get fame and cash_?’ No wonder that he gets along with Mr. Trump. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-rfk-jr-drops-out-how-does-this-impact-the-election/1006004.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/if-rfk-jr-drops-out-how-does-this-impact-the-election/1006004.md?page=4)