Democratic strategists beat back potentially catastrophic third-party threats this year with a campaign to force attorney Robert F. Kennedy Jr. from the race and prevent a presidential bid by the moderate group No Labels.
But advisers to Vice President Kamala Harris still say the final outcome in key swing states could hinge on the remaining independent and third-party contenders, who are collectively drawing about 5 percent of the vote in public polls.
“Just like in 2016, Jill Stein can’t win the presidency, but she will help decide who does,” DNC adviser Ramsey Reid said in a statement. “It’s crucial voters know that a vote for anyone other than Kamala Harris is a vote for Donald Trump.”
The ads come as Stein has described keeping Harris from the White House as one of the goals of her campaign. On Wednesday, she accepted the endorsement in Michigan of Abandon Harris, a Muslim American group organized to oppose U.S. support of Israel’s military.
Before she spoke, one of the group’s leaders, Hassan Abdel Salam, said their goal was to bring about “failure for the vice president, the loss of Michigan and the loss of the White House” because of the Biden administration’s Israel policy.
Stein, in her remarks at the event, said she still hoped to win the White House. But she also defined victory for her campaign in much more modest terms, saying her campaign can also win by denying either of the major party candidates, Trump or Harris, victory because of their support for Israel’s war in Gaza and Lebanon.
“The Kamala Harris campaign is looking for a scapegoat,” Stein said Thursday in an interview, about the Harris campaign’s concern about her candidacy. “They could change their policy right now. The problem is they would rather lose the election than end the genocide.”