As more and more voters are learning about Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s extreme views, his favorability rates are lagging, dropping to 35% from 42% last June.  

From championing far-right policies and conspiracy theories linking vaccines to autism to supporting a 15-week abortion ban to advocating for corporate interests instead of the environment, it’s no surprise that voters are turning on Kennedy Jr. 

However, recent polling from Quinnipiac University and Marquette University Law School also showed that Kennedy Jr. could receive the second-highest vote share of any independent or third-party White House candidate in the past half-century. 

So despite his plummeting popularity, Kennedy Jr. still poses a significant problem for President Biden’s reelection campaign.

Read Newsweek’s coverage of Kennedy’s drop in support here and key excerpts below:

Newsweek: RFK Jr.'s Popularity Has Collapsed

Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s popularity has plummeted in the past year, polls have shown.

According to polling aggregator FiveThirtyEight, Kennedy, the son of former Senator Robert F. Kennedy and nephew of former President John F. Kennedy, has seen his favorability rating decline from 42.1% on June 4, 2023, to 35.3% on June 4, 2024. It's a change from a net score of +15.5% favorable to -6.6% unfavorable in 12 months.

Similar data from The Hill showed that on June 4, 2023, Kennedy had a 42.3% favorability rating and a 25.2% unfavorability rating. One year later, 48.4% of people rated him as unfavorable, while 33.4% rated him favorably.

He has a strong anti-vaccine stance and reported support of conspiracy theories, such as the unsubstantiated beliefs that COVID-19 targets certain races, the 2004 presidential election was stolen by voter fraud, and that there’s a link between mass shootings and prescription drugs.

Some experts have said that his candidacy could harm Biden and former President Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee, when voters head to the polls.