RFK Jr. Running Mate Nicole Shanahan Announces She Will Not Run For Governor

Attorney and the running mate of Robert Kennedy Jr. in the 2024 Presidential election Nicole Shanahan announced on The Steve Hilton Show Friday that she will not be running for Governor of California in 2026, ending months of speculation.

“I am not running for Governor in 2026,” Shanahan said on the show. “This is a very big story. I believe my job in 2026 is to break people out of their political orthodoxy to think about what is really in the best interest of California. I am not a Democrat, I am not a Republican. I am an independent and I am here to support the revival of California.”

“You’re making me feel tingly in the best way,” responded Hilton, who himself has expressed interest in running for the office. “It’s a beautiful vision. That’s right. That’s how we’ll do it. By bringing people together for something practical and positive, and not ideological.”

“I’ll be supporting those individuals that continue to be brave enough to stand up to harmful political ideology.”

Shanahan has, for months, shown interest in running as an independent, building off of her notoriety following her position as RFK Jr.’s running mate last year before he dropped out and supported Donald Trump. It is currently unknown if she will attempt another run for office in the future, although it is highly likely that she will continue to be a major political donor going forward.

While the Democrats currently have multiple known candidates with electoral experience, including Lt. Governor Eleni Kounalakis, former Congresswoman Katie Porter,  State Superintendent Tony Thurmond, Senator Toni Atkins (D-San Diego), Former State Controller Betty Yee, and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, few others have made declarations. Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco is the only major Republican to enter the race, as of Friday.

However, like the Democrats and former Vice President Kamala Harris and developer Rick Caruso, the GOP has many candidates who have expressed interest since last year. Amongst possible GOP candidates are former State Senator and 2022 Gubernatorial candidate Brian Dahle, former Olympian and 2021 Gubernatorial candidate Caitlyn Jenner, and Special Presidential Envoy, former Director of National Intelligence and former Ambassador to Germany Ric Grenell, and, as it should be noted, Hilton himself, a Fox New Host and former advisor to UK Prime Minister David Cameron.

Shanahan’s announcement on Hilton’s show led many to speculate that Hilton could be planning on announcing a run soon. However, when the Globe reached out to Hilton’s political advisor Matt Schupe on Friday, he confirmed that Hilton is still very much undecided.

“Shanahan’s dropping out allows opportunities for more candidates to jump into the race,” said Schupe to the Globe on Friday. “Steve is still looking at a run, and he plans to announce his intentions before Kamala Harris gives her announcement in the summer. Steve Hilton is a serious person. If he jumps in, he will have done so because he has investigated doing so for months and he will have calculated that he could win the election.”