On a brisk January day earlier this year, I found myself driving to Raleigh to listen to a former favorite son of the Democratic Party — a party I’d supported my entire life — explain why he was now running for president as an independent.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. spoke passionately with a Whitman-esque “barbaric yawp,” offering solutions to our nation’s long-ignored problems: unhealthy food, rampant chronic disease, state censorship, and the unethical alliance between corporations and government agencies. Solutions that inexplicably had him shunned from his father’s party. 

I immediately called my daughter and declared an impossible mission: “I’m getting this guy into the White House.”

In a twist I’m only now getting my head around, it turned out I was actually talking about Donald Trump.

That’s because it would be people like me, the Team Kennedy campaign, and millions of We The People and MAHA (Make America Healthy Again) supporters across the country who would ultimately help swing the election to our 47th president of the United States — though that certainly wasn’t the original plan.

THE JOURNEY TO BALLOT ACCESS 

I started as an unpaid volunteer for Team Kennedy that very day and was soon recruited as the campaign’s North Carolina state director. Our goal was to win — and we believed we could, especially in a fair fight. Still, it was lost on no one that we were underdogs.

More important to Kennedy than winning was ensuring our movement’s message was heard — and for that, we needed supporters and ballot access; otherwise, we’d have no voice with the media or either mainstream party. 

The first hurdle in North Carolina was gaining that access, but I was fortunate to have been working with a dedicated team, led by our steadfast chairwoman, Ceara Foley, to establish We The People as a political party in North Carolina. 

To secure the right to nominate candidates, We The People needed 13,865 petition signatures from registered voters. However, we set our goal at 24,000, anticipating intense scrutiny from the Democratic-majority North Carolina Board of Elections.

Our tireless, incredibly dedicated team of volunteers gathered signatures statewide over months, and it was a proud day when we returned to Raleigh to submit over 24,000 — about 75% more than required. I assumed we’d have no issue securing certification and nominating Kennedy and others in North Carolina as planned.

The Democratic Party, however, had other ideas.

The North Carolina Democratic Party’s lawyers sent challenge letters to the State Board of Elections (SBE), comprised primarily of Democratic-affiliated lawyers, alleging that We The People was a sham party. This triggered a baseless public investigation and delays. Legacy media ran stories suggesting we’d failed certification, further demoralizing our supporters in North Carolina and beyond.

Additional letters were sent to the SBE by Elias Law Group on behalf of Clear Choice Action, a PAC founded by Democratic mega-donor Reid Hoffman, citing various nonsensical reasons why We The People should be summarily rejected as a political party.

The SBE continued to delay our certification, and petition signers’ personal information was released to Clear Choice. This allowed Clear Choice to attempt pressuring signers into retracting their support for We The People through misleading emails, texts, phone calls, and even home visits.

Ironically, these Democratic operatives pursued this harassment because, at the time, they believed Kennedy was drawing more support from Democrats. In the end, their efforts proved to be a modern Greek tragedy — a self-fulfilling prophecy ultimately leading to their own electoral demise.

Although statute required the board to review our petitions “forthwith,” the process stretched to an absurd 50 days. After scrutinizing nearly 25,000 petition signatures and reviewing the various challenges from the Democratic machine, the SBE found zero credible issues and was forced to certify We The People as North Carolina’s newest political party.

It was a monumental day — but the excitement was short-lived.

Immediately after receiving certification, We The People was sued by the North Carolina Democratic Party.

Being an attorney, I now took on dual roles: running Team Kennedy’s North Carolina operations while supporting We The People as its legal counsel in the case.

The Democrats’ lawfare tactics were more effective than they likely expected; inevitably, I’d lose ground in one role while focusing on the other. I contacted the esteemed Oliver Hall at the Center for Competitive Democracy, a ballot access legal expert, and together we began preparing our defense.

Weeks later, we won the groundless case — but the damage was done. The Democratic Party’s primary goal was never truly to win, but to deplete our time and resources — a tactic they had employed against Team Kennedy in multiple states.

And they succeeded. 

The Kennedy campaign spent vast sums fighting frivolous lawsuits, wasting millions that could have been used to reach more Americans and secure a spot on the debate stage. As a result, victory in the election became virtually impossible.

Days later, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced he was suspending his campaign. But to the chagrin of his detractors, the movement he started could no longer be silenced.

The question for us all was, “What next?”

THE WE THE PEOPLE SWING STATE EFFECT

On Nov. 4, 2024, polls showed Vice President Harris trailed President Trump by less than 1% in North Carolina. According to The Hill, Kennedy averaged 4.3% across 38 polls in the state, many of which were designed by partisan interests to purposely misrepresent his percentage.

As such, Kennedy’s support translated to at least 240,000 votes in North Carolina. President Trump won the state by roughly 190,000 votes, highlighting that whomever Kennedy aligned with would have a distinct advantage — a pattern mirrored in swing states nationwide.

How crucial was North Carolina? According to the Associated Press, the campaigns combined for over 40 trips here.

After suspending his run, Kennedy stated that he reached out to both mainstream parties to discuss national unity, a dedication to his message of healing the country’s divide. Essentially, he made two phone calls: one to Trump and one to Harris — but only one of them answered.

Kennedy’s commitment to food safety resonated with Trump, opening the door to a dialogue on bridging divides and improving the health of Americans nationwide. 

A unity government was forming.

SECURING THE INDEPENDENT VOTE

Kennedy had clearly struck a chord with independent voters nationwide during his campaign. It is well established that independents determine presidential elections. And more Americans, both in North Carolina and nationally, now identifying as independent (called unaffiliated in North Carolina) than as Republican or Democrat.

Now, Kennedy was asking independents to help elect a Republican.

Our volunteers felt a mix of emotions — some were immediately ready to support this burgeoning unity ticket, while others sought guidance.

During a panel at the Independent National Convention, I stated that supporting Kennedy now meant backing Trump. I urged Team Kennedy volunteers to contribute in any way they felt comfortable, but at the very least, to cast their vote for him.

In my view, another Democratic administration would only exacerbate the issues plaguing our country: unsafe food, escalating chronic disease, the erosion of free speech, and the deepening unethical collusion between corporations and government.

Our volunteers supported President Trump through various efforts: creating PACs, working with his campaign, tabling, phone banking, and more.

The rest, as they say, is history. 

Former President Trump is now President-(re)elect Trump, and his recent appointment of RFK Jr. to head the Department of Health and Human Services shows that We The People’s trust in Trump’s unity administration was well-founded.

Now, we face a critical choice: continue the divisiveness or move forward together. To me, the answer is supporting unity under the Trump administration and working toward Kennedy’s goal of healing the divide.

It’s time to move beyond partisan politics and hold our elected officials accountable for their actions — together.

I’ve had strained relationships over my support for Kennedy and Trump in this election, but I remain committed to a higher purpose. We may not agree with everything our president espouses, but when called to serve for the future of our children, it is imperative to answer.