Scoop: RFK Jr. restarting JFK's "Viva Kennedy!" Latino outreach
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Independent presidential hopeful Robert Kennedy Jr. wants to engage Hispanic voters by using a version of his uncle JFK's historic "Viva Kennedy!" platform — a model that gave birth to the modern Latino vote.
Why it matters: RFK Jr. is on the ballot in at least four states and is seeking access in others, such as Georgia and Arizona, where small political shifts among Latinos could swing a tight presidential election.
- About 36.2 million U.S. Latinos are eligible to vote this year. Hispanics are more diverse and politically independent than when President John F. Kennedy launched his historic outreach program in 1960.
Driving the news: RFK Jr. will kick off a new Viva Kennedy! effort on March 30 in Los Angeles, says Rob Lucero, who is directing the effort.
- The campaign will register voters under RFK's We the People Party, release Spanish-language ads and set up clubs across the country as JFK did, Lucero tells Axios.
- RFK Jr. released a Spanish-language response video in President Biden's State of the Union and set up a Viva Kennedy '24 X account.
Friction point: Some of RFK Jr.'s own family is openly supporting Biden and has denounced his attempt to use JFK nostalgia for his long-shot bid.
- Plus, RFK Jr. has come under fire for spreading anti-vaccine conspiracy theories during the pandemic, which disproportionately hit people of color in the U.S., especially Latinos.
Between the lines: It's unclear if Viva Kennedy! '24 would tap into any Kennedy nostalgia among Latino millennials and members of Gen Z since that was a movement of their grandparents and great-grandparents, Brian Behnken, an Iowa State University history professor, tells Axios.
- "It's embarrassing to even bring this up again," California Republican consultant Mike Madrid, author of the upcoming "The Latino Century," tells Axios.
- "If that's who Robert Kennedy Jr. thinks we are, that we're still the community of the 1960s, then it explains why nobody's listening to him."
The intrigue: The announcement for RFK Jr.'s Latino outreach initiative was planned to coincide with the birthday of the late farmworker union leader Cesar Chavez, Lucero says.
- RFK supported Chavez during the late 1960s farmworkers' strike and was present when Chavez broke his hunger strike.
Flashback: RFK Jr.'s father, the late Robert Kennedy, Sr., helped set up Viva Kennedy! clubs for John F. Kennedy's presidential run to galvanize newly organized Mexican American World War II veterans, who were fighting for civil rights.
- The clubs were used to register new Mexican American and Puerto Rican voters and, in some cases, raise money for poll taxes — a reality under segregation.
- The effort helped JFK capture 90% of Latino voters and win crucial states like Texas. It was the first national election in which Latino voters played a significant role.
Yes, but: Biden's campaign manager, Julie Chávez Rodríguez — the granddaughter of Cesar Chavez — on Tuesday helped launch Latinos con Biden-Harris, a new outreach effort.
- Latinos con Biden-Harris has not mentioned RFK Jr. in ads and has focused on former President Trump and Biden's record.
Trump, the presumptive GOP nominee, has not announced any specific Latino voter outreach.
- He has faced criticism for making several racist and bigoted comments about immigrants and people of color.
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