Dem
47
GOP
53
It is an old trick in politics to run against someone who is not even on the ballot. For years, many Republicans thousands of miles from San Francisco ran as if Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) were their opponent. Democrats have caught on and now seem to have their own boogeyman: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. He is sufficiently unpopular nationwide that they can try to tar every Republican with everything he has done.
Democrats know that his views on vaccines are largely unpopular, so they are going to blame him for all disease outbreaks anywhere. He has also gone after Tylenol, which millions of people have used with no problems. They will label him a complete kook. Even 40% of parents who like his MAHA movement don't trust him and 75% of non-MAHA parents certainly don't trust him.
His firing of thousands of health workers is also going to be a problem. Democrats are going to blame every health problem on Kennedy's incompetence. Democrats are already running ads in selected areas tying Republicans to Kennedy, especially to his view of vaccines. Depending on how aggressive they want to be, they could run ads saying: "If Robert Kennedy Jr. gets his way, he could ban all vaccines, allowing children to die from polio, and my opponent supports him."
Separate from any specific race, going after Kennedy could reinforce the notion that Republicans care only about tax cuts for rich people, not the health of ordinary Americans. For example, they could highlight the cuts he has made to cancer research and the thousands of people at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention he has fired. Ads already running slam Kennedy for believing wacko conspiracy theories. Democrats generally avoid "boogeyman" campaigns, but Kennedy is sufficiently well known and has supported enough crazy things that it could work this time. (V)