It has been broadly surmised by political analysts and pundits that the independent presidential candidacy of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., while drawing some support away from both major party's presumptive nominees, will likely siphon more votes away from President Joe Biden than from former President Donald Trump.

Given the potential threat Kennedy poses to Biden's electoral prospects, the Democratic Party is now "pulling out all the stops" in a concerted effort on behalf of the vulnerable incumbent to knock the independent candidate out of the race, according to The Hill.

That Democratic effort includes attempting to block Kennedy's ballot access in individual states, highlighting the support for Biden from the rest of the iconic Kennedy family, linking Kennedy more closely with Trump to frighten Trump-phobic voters, and sullying Kennedy's public reputation with accusations and opposition research.

Polling suggests Kennedy draws more support from Biden than Trump

New York Magazine's Intelligencer reported in March that Kennedy's candidacy first harmed President Biden when he first ran as a Democrat, then hurt former President Trump for a bit when he announced his independent run, but now is back to impacting Biden's support more than Trump's.

Comparisons of the limited three-way-race polling in the battleground states show that Trump's lead over Biden grows, at least marginally if not substantially, in nearly all of the crucial swing states when Kennedy is added as an option for voters.

That is plainly evident in the RealClearPolling average of national polls, which currently show Trump leading Biden by about half a point, 44.5-44.1%, in a head-to-head matchup, but that lead increases to 5.3% in a three-way race, with Trump, Biden, and Kennedy receiving 41%, 35.7%, and 11.7% support, respectively.

The strong presumption that Kennedy is drawing some left-leaning supporters away from Biden is seemingly further confirmed by RCP's 5-way race average that includes progressive independent Cornel West (1.6%) and Green Party candidate Jill Stein (1%), as Kennedy's support falls to around 8.4%, Biden creeps back up to 40.6%, and Trump inches up to 41.9%, for an overall lead of 1.3 points.

Fighting to block ballot access and digging up dirt to smear Kennedy

Politico also reported this week on the efforts by Democrats to try and marginalize the impact of Kennedy's candidacy, if not force him out of the race altogether, as a way to protect President Biden's struggling re-election bid.

That effort is reportedly being led by a special unit of staffers within the Democratic National Committee assigned specifically to take down Kennedy and the other third-party candidates.

Their efforts include filing Federal Election Commission complaints and lawsuits against Kennedy's ballot access petition drives in numerous states, linking him more closely to Trump and Republican donors, and digging up dirt through opposition research on both Kennedy and his recently named vice-presidential candidate, wealthy Silicon Valley entrepreneur and philanthropist Nicole Shanahan.

The Democratic anti-Kennedy push is driven by a real and legitimate fear that the election could come down to just a few thousand votes in a couple of swing states -- votes that potentially could break for Biden more than for Trump if Kennedy and the other third-party candidates aren't available as options on the ballot or have been so thoroughly discredited and maligned that their current levels of support bottom out.

"There will be a clear choice facing voters this November and the more they learn about RFK Jr, the more they will recognize that a vote for him is a vote for Donald Trump," Matt Corridoni, a DNC spokesman, told The Hill. "We’re going to make sure he’s playing by the rules and we’re going to make sure voters are educated about his extreme positions and who is propping up his spoiler candidacy."

Dems are "leaving nothing to chance" with Kennedy

It is, of course, impossible to know until Election Day just how much support Kennedy truly enjoys, not to mention which of the two major party candidates the bulk of his support is drawn from, to say nothing of how many of those current Kennedy supporters will eventually shift back to either Biden or Trump at the last minute, as has historically occurred with third-party candidates, per the Intelligencer.

But those uncertainties are precisely why Politico reported that Democrats are "leaving nothing to chance" in their all-out bid to effectively destroy Kennedy's candidacy and protect Biden's bid for a second term in the White House.