Donald Trump and President Joe Biden are expected to win their party's nominations and face off once again in the 2024 election.
The duo might face one of the biggest third-party threats in years that could hurt both candidates.
What Happened: After running as a Democratic candidate in the 2024 presidential election, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced he would be running as an Independent or third-party candidate.
Many political analysts said Kennedy Jr.'s Independent run could hurt both Trump and Biden, but the big question remained was which candidate could get hurt more by his presence in the race.
In August, Benzinga shared data that showed Kennedy Jr. having higher favorable ratings among Republican voters than from Democratic voters, despite his running for the Democratic nomination.
A new investigation by Politico into the donations being made to Kennedy Jr.'s campaign could reveal which party could get hurt more.
The report revealed large dollar donations from voters with a history of voting for Democrats totaled $1.4 million. Donations from voters with a history of voting for Republicans totaled $2.0 million.
The report also showed that small-dollar donations totaled $5.1 million and large-dollar donations from voters with no recent donation history totaled $6.6 million.
The report also showed a breakdown of the donors with recent political donations in past elections. From voters who donated in the 2024 election to-date, $170,000 of the donations to Kennedy Jr. came from voters who had already donated to Trump, compared to $2,000 from voters who had donated to Biden.
Donations from people who supported a candidate in the 2020 presidential election also favored Trump at a $593,000 to $189,000 over supporters of Biden.
More donations were made to Kennedy Jr. from voters who backed Trump in the 2016 presidential election than 2016 Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton as well.
Along with the report tracking donations made to Kennedy Jr. from voters who supported Trump in the current election cycle, Politico also found voters who had donated to Kennedy Jr. had also given to Republican candidates Vivek Ramaswamy and Ron DeSantis.
Related Link: Robert Kennedy Jr. Draws Wrath Of White House After Latest Vile Vaccine Comments
Why It's Important: Without appearing at debates, portions of Kennedy Jr.'s platform may not be as known to voters yet.
Those who have heard Kennedy Jr. discuss politics have likely heard him criticizing the current government and leadership of Biden. Running on this platform could see Kennedy Jr. get votes from Americans who are looking for a change from the current leadership.
"When Kennedy goes out there and runs against the establishment, he has to appreciate it probably ends up splitting votes off from President Trump," Sen. J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), said as shared by Politico.
The 2024 presidential election is nearly a year away and while Kennedy Jr. likely doesn't have a shot at winning the presidency, he could play an important role in the election.
Read Next: 2024 Presidential Election Betting Odds, Where Does Kennedy Jr. Rank?
© 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
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