The chances of him capturing the White House in 2024 are slim to none, but he could potentially have some impact in a close race. Would he take more votes from the Republican or Democratic nominee if he had more supporters?

When it comes down to a choice between Trump and Kennedy, that’s a really tough question, says Sherri Guoan. I would love for them to run together in a perfect world.”

On Saturday, Mrs Guoan and her husband Brandon drove more than an hour from Detroit to see Mr Kennedy in Lansing, Michigan’s state capital.

Guoan calls himself an “old school Democrat, a Kennedy Democrat,” but both voted for Donald Trump in 2020.

“Trump is very controversial and the country could use a fresh start,” she says, but she won’t vote for Joe Biden, whom she calls “the worst president this country has ever had.”

In Lansing, the candidate spoke to dozens of voters in an eclectic crowd of a few hundred. A Kennedy campaign could alter the overall race – and in what direction. Just a few feet away from the Guaons stands Alex Hernandez, a retired autoworker and proud union member. In 1968, his parents took him to see a speech by Mr Kennedy’s father, a Democrat who voted for Mr Biden.

The younger Kennedy “has the name and the heritage,” he says. I wanted to hear what he had to say.”