While many Republicans disagree with Trump’s stance on COVID-19 vaccines, only some have switched their preference to RFK Jr., a vaccine safety activist.
Many Republicans are still wanting a reckoning over the government-imposed lockdowns, the mask mandates, and particularly the vaccine mandates. While they support former President Donald Trump, they don’t resonate with his praise of his vaccine program, Operation Warp Speed, and the COVID-19 vaccines.
When it comes to the vaccines, many of them align with independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who remains one of the most outspoken critics of the shot’s safety.
Pundits and voters are at odds about whether the issue will play a role in determining if President Trump returns to the White House, or if his stance will shift support to Mr. Kennedy, who is running as an independent candidate.
In a three-way general election Quinnipiac poll conducted on Nov. 1, Mr. Kennedy pulled more votes from President Trump than President Joe Biden, flipping what would have been a narrow victory for President Trump to a win for President Biden. The scenario repeated when independent candidate Cornel West was added to the hypothetical ballot.
President Trump maintains a commanding lead among Republican presidential candidates in every national poll.
Mr. Kennedy is a favorite among independents and voters under the age of 45. President Biden dominates the Democratic field.
President Trump’s defense of Operation Warp Speed, the program he rolled out in May 2020 to spur COVID-19 vaccine development and distribution amidst the pandemic, remains a sticking point for some of his supporters who now say they will vote for Mr. Kennedy in 2024.
The initiative featured a partnership between the government, military, and private sector. The government paid for millions of vaccine doses to be produced.
MaryJo Perry, a longtime advocate for vaccine choice and a President Trump supporter, thinks votes will be at a premium come Election Day, particularly because the independent field is becoming more competitive. Besides Mr. Kennedy and Mr. West, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.V.) has hinted at a possible independent run.
Ms. Perry, president of Mississippi Parents for Vaccine Rights, believes advocates for medical freedom could determine who is ultimately president.
