Who Are the RFK Jr. Voters?

Rosemary Pastrick thinks Americans were “brainwashed” into accepting the Covid vaccine. She regards both major political parties as corrupt. She is disillusioned with Donald Trump and Joe Biden. And she proudly supports Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

“Trump is in all these problems,” said Pastrick, a 77-year-old who lives in Stanton, Mich. “He couldn’t stand losing. It was like he was on his own TV show and got fired. And then Biden — he’s not strong enough.”

Kennedy, in her view, “tells the truth. He’s outspoken. As far as I know, he’s not crooked.” Asked what she would do if he were not on the ballot in the fall, she replied, “I would probably write him in.”

In a general election rematch between two familiar and unpopular major-party nominees, independent and third-party candidates, and their supporters, could take on exceptional significance in this year’s presidential contest.

And of those contenders, no one these days is drawing as much attention — and inspiring as much angst — as Kennedy, who, with his independent bid, has had a strong showing in some national and state polls.

Kennedy questions

Kennedy, an environmental lawyer, is a leading vaccine skeptic and purveyor of conspiracy theories, as my colleague Anjali Huynh wrote last summer. He is slated to announce a running mate tomorrow in Oakland, Calif.