Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has chosen Nicole Shanahan, a Silicon Valley lawyer and entrepreneur, as his vice-presidential pick.
“I’m so proud to introduce to you the next vice president the United States, my fellow lawyer, a brilliant scientist, technologist, a fierce warrior mom, Nicole Shanahan,” Kennedy announced Tuesday at a campaign event in Oakland, Calif., her hometown.
Shanahan was one of Kennedy’s top running-mate options on a shortlist, which reportedly included NFL quarterback Aaron Rodgers, former representative Tulsi Gabbard (D., Hawaii), Senator Rand Paul (R., Ky.), and former television host Mike Rowe, among other figures. The announcement confirmed previous reporting that Kennedy intended to pick Shanahan, who has notably contributed donations to his campaign and super PAC over the past year, while he was still running as a Democrat.
Last month, the New York Times reported she contributed $4 million to a pro-Kennedy commercial that ran during the Super Bowl.
Kennedy became an independent in October 2023 after he failed to gain traction due to the Democratic Party’s support for President Joe Biden. Shanahan also gave money to Biden’s campaign in 2020, but now she is going down the third-party route alongside Kennedy.
“I wanted a partner who is a gifted administrator, but also possesses the gift of curiosity, an open, inquiring mind and the confidence to change even her strongest opinions in the face of contrary evidence. I wanted someone with a spiritual dimension and compassion and idealism and, above all, a deep love of the United States of America,” Kennedy said. “I found all of those qualities in a woman who grew up right here in Oakland.”
Kennedy, the son of Bobby Kennedy and nephew of John F. Kennedy, also wanted Shanahan, 38, because he believes she can reach “the growing number of millennials and Gen Z Americans who have last faith in their future,” he said.
This is the first time Shanahan, who’s largely unknown to the public outside of the technology industry, has entered the political arena. She was formerly married to Google co-founder Sergey Brin.
The news comes at an opportune time for Kennedy, considering nearly half of all states require a named running mate to make it onto the ballot. So far, he is already on the ballot in Utah and has gathered enough signatures to be on the ballot in New Hampshire and Nevada. In Hawaii, his supporters have also collected the necessary signatures to establish the “We the People” party in the state.
Recent polls show Kennedy gaining traction in what the Kennedy campaign calls a three-way race against Biden and former president Donald Trump. While still a long-shot candidate behind the Democratic and Republican frontrunners, Kennedy is consistently gaining double-digit support among independent voters — the largest political bloc in the U.S.
In January, Gallup reported that 43 percent of U.S. adults, on average, identify as independent. In contrast, 27 percent of U.S. adults equally identify as Republicans and Democrats.
Thirty percent of independents said they would vote for Kennedy, according to a Quinnipiac poll released in February, compared to 32 percent for Biden and 25 percent for Trump. Among all registered voters in the survey, both Biden and Trump are nearly tied with 38 and 37 percent, respectively. Kennedy, however, remains at 15 percent.