Robert F. Kennedy Jr. selects his vice president, Nicole Shanahan

Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has selected Nicole Shanahan as his vice president. Shanahan, a 38-year-old Silicon Valley lawyer and philanthropist, was previously married to Google co-founder Sergey Brin. Announcing her partnership with Kennedy at an event in her hometown of Oakland, California, Shanahan stated she was inspired by Kennedy to leave the Democratic Party.

“Nicole and I both left the Democratic Party,” Kennedy said. “Our values didn’t change. The Democratic Party did.”

Kennedy said she has a deeper understanding of technology’s “promise and peril” than any mainstream candidate.

Shanahan has contributed more than $4 million to Kennedy’s campaign, including funding for a Super Bowl advertisement. Kennedy’s choice of a vice presidential candidate is a strategic move aimed at enhancing his ballot access across the United States.

Nearly half the states require a vice president for ballot eligibility. He’s on Utah’s ballot, and with help from American Values 2024, claims sufficient signatures for states like Arizona, Nevada, and Georgia, pending official approval.

“If Nicole and I can get Americans to refuse to vote from fear, we’re going to be in the White House in November,” he said.