Friday looms large in Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s presidential campaign as the independent candidate weighs whether to remain in the race or drop out and possibly endorse former President Donald Trump.

His campaign announced Wednesday that he will address the nation from Arizona about his path forward on Friday – the same day that Trump will be in the state. If he endorses Trump, as some reports suggest, he will make history as the first member of the prominent Democratic dynasty to openly cast his lot with Republicans.

And despite early concerns among Democrats that his last name alone could sway votes away from the party’s standard-bearer, analysts say that a bizarre stream of personal and political disclosures means that even an alliance with Trump is unlikely to do much harm now.

Since the beginning of his campaign, pollsters and political strategists pondered whether the allure and nostalgia surrounding the Kennedy name would be enough to lure some disaffected Democrats in a race where every vote will be critical.

Cecelia Smith-SchoenwalderAug. 21, 2024

David M. Kennedy, a history professor at Stanford University who is no relation to the candidate, says it was reasonable to think his baseline appeal would be to longtime historically committed Democrats given his family’s longtime connection with the party.

John Shaw, director of Southern Illinois University-Carbondale’s Paul Simon Public Policy Institute and an expert on President John F. Kennedy, notes that the Kennedy name is still “magic” in American politics and especially in the Democratic Party.

Understandably, Kennedy has largely depended on his heritage to give him leverage, going as far as to repurpose an old ad from his uncle’s 1960 presidential run during the Super Bowl this year for nostalgia purposes. And to an extent, the effort has worked as the........

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