Robert F. Kennedy Jr. urged Iowa Libertarian candidate Rick Stewart to drop out of Iowa's 2nd Congressional District race, according to an audio recording reported by The Washington Post. Kennedy said he was acting as a liaison with the White House and suggested an agreement could help Stewart if he left the contest.
Rick Stewart and Iowa's 2nd Congressional District
The recording places the exchange inside a competitive House race that Republicans wanted to keep in their column. Kennedy told Stewart he could not give specifics because “I can’t go into specifics because there’s legal prohibitions about that. … If it’s something that you want to talk about, you know, you and I can talk about specifics.”
Kennedy also said a symbolic campaign would not go as far as an arrangement made outside the ballot box. That creates the practical issue for Stewart: whether the conversation was about a vague political favor or a concrete offer tied to his exit.
White House and legal prohibitions
Kennedy tied his pitch to President Donald Trump’s agenda, saying a Democratic takeover of the House would undermine it. The Washington Post said the recording documents Kennedy urging Stewart to drop out to help Republicans keep control of Congress.
Government ethics experts said the conduct was unethical and potentially illegal depending on whether Kennedy promised specific favors and whether he made the call in his capacity as a Cabinet official. The legal line turns on whether a federal official uses public authority, or even the appearance of it, to influence a campaign outcome while suggesting private benefits in return.
Iowa's 3rd Congressional District
Politico reported that Kennedy also urged a Libertarian in Iowa's 3rd Congressional District to drop out. It said he had recently taken part in events in Michigan, Colorado, Wisconsin and Ohio, including an event in Michigan last week with Republican Rep. Tom Barrett.
That wider pattern matters because the recorded call was not isolated. Kennedy was appearing in competitive districts and around Republican candidates ahead of the midterm elections, while the Iowa recording raised the sharper question of what help, if any, he was offering in exchange for an exit. The recording has not been independently verified by MS NOW.
