Robert F. Kennedy Jr. lost in the first round of voting for the Libertarian Party’s presidential nomination on Sunday, just two days after he spoke at the party’s convention.
RFK Jr. received the support of only 19 delegates, just 2.07% of the vote, according to CNN.
After losing, he urged libertarians to still vote for him in November’s general election, despite the fact that “we may not agree on every downstream issue.”
Donald Trump’s name was also briefly in contention, after he desperately begged for the nomination on Saturday. The former president was, however, disqualified because he had failed to submit nominating papers.
He defended the decision in a defiant post on his social media platform, Truth Social, Sunday evening.
“The reason I didn’t file paperwork for the Libertarian Nomination, which I would have absolutely gotten if I wanted it (as everyone could tell by the enthusiasm of the Crowd last night!), was the fact that, as the Republican Nominee, I am not allowed to have the Nomination of another Party.” he wrote.
“Regardless, I believe I will get a Majority of the Libertarian Votes. Junior’ Kennedy is a Radical Left Democrat, who’s destroyed everything he’s touched, especially in New York and New England, and in particular, as it relates to the Cost and Practicality of Energy. He’s not a Libertarian. Only a FOOL would vote for him!”
Trump was fiercely booed when he spoke at the event, and only received six write-in votes.
RFK Jr.’s vice presidential pick Nicole Shanahan was expected to speak at the event on Sunday, but will no longer be making her appearance following her running mate’s defeat.
