In Holbrook, presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. seeks votes 'of hope'

Presidential hopeful Robert F. Kennedy Jr. brought his outsider message to Holbrook on Sunday, urging a large gathering to “vote out of hope” in November and put him in the White House.

Kennedy, whose long-shot bid as an independent against Democratic President Joe Biden and Republican former President Donald Trump still needs scores of signatures to get on the ballot in all 50 states, has positioned himself as an alternative, unbound by party pressures, and with a lengthy background on environmental issues — a candidate for brave voters, he told the group at Villa Lombardi’s.

“My path to victory is to convince Americans to not vote out of fear,” he said at the afternoon campaign event.

 “If I could persuade Americans to vote out of hope,” Kennedy added, “ … I win the election easily.”

Gene Golus, 61, of Massapequa, described himself as a liberal who feels the Democratic Party left the average American behind “in search of corporate dollars.” Golus said he was drawn to Kennedy’s candidacy because of his strong views on vaccines, health care and being someone not “afraid to ask questions and change his mind. That is unheard of in today's politics.”

Kennedy used videos and a 45-minute speech to outline his longtime work on environmental issues as well as his positions on health care and its growing costs, the national debt, the negative affects of “corporate culture” in the United States and ending involvement in wars across the globe. His criticisms of mandatory vaccines during the COVID-19 pandemic brought loud applause Sunday.

He often recalled the words and actions of his uncle President John F. Kennedy, and his father, Sen. Robert F. Kennedy.

And he likened his current presidential run to that of his father in 1968, alienated by the Democratic Party and others for his positions. The elder Kennedy, a Democratic senator from New York at the time of his assassination on the campaign trail, angered some for being critical of the Vietnam War, his son reminded those gathered Sunday.

Decades later though, the large Kennedy political family has so far shown the most support for Biden, with 15 members, including Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s sister Kerry Kennedy endorsing the president at a news conference in Philadelphia earlier this month. 

“We want to make crystal clear our feelings that the best way forward for America is to reelect Joe Biden and Kamala Harris for four more years,” Kerry Kennedy said. She never directly mentioned her brother.

Sunday, Kennedy Jr. acknowledged differences with family members but said he maintains close ties.

Susan Cleven-Blaesi was one of hundreds of supporters who waited in a long line to get a selfie with the presidential candidate after the rally.

“It’s refreshing to hear what we have in common and that we need to protect our children, protect our planet and worry about the economy,” said Cleven-Blaesi, 42, of Massapequa. “I think his message was very clear — you should vote using logic and understanding of what the major issues are and not vote out of fear of the other candidates.”

Jill Englehardt, 65, of Lindenhurst, said she joined as a volunteer to help Kennedy get signatures for a spot on the ballot.

She also considers Kennedy someone who is “for the people” and not special interests.

“He just wants safe and tested drugs … that’s all he wants,” she said. “He wants our food to be clean … we shouldn't have things with a million ingredients.”

By Lisa L. Colangelo

lisa.colangelo@newsday.com@lisalcolangelo

Lisa joined Newsday as a staff writer in 2019. She previously worked at amNewYork, the New York Daily News and the Asbury Park Press covering politics, government and general assignment.