Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has chosen Nicole Shanahan, a Silicon Valley lawyer and entrepreneur, as his vice-presidential pick.

Shanahan was one of Kennedy’s top running-mate options on a shortlist, which reoprtedly included NFL quarterback Aaron Rodgers, former representative Tulsi Gabbard (D., Hawaii), Senator Rand Paul (R., Ky.), and former television host Mike Rowe, among other figures. The announcement confirmed previous reporting that Kennedy intended to pick Shanahan, who has notably contributed donations to his campaign and super PAC over the past year, while he was still running as a Democrat.

Kennedy became an independent in October 2023 after he failed to gain traction due to the Democratic Party’s support for President Joe Biden. Shanahan also gave money to Biden’s campaign in 2020, but now she is going down the third-party route alongside Kennedy.

The news comes at an opportune time for Kennedy, considering nearly half of all states require a named running mate to make it onto the ballot. So far, he is already on the ballot in Utah and has gathered enough signatures to be on the ballot in New Hampshire and Nevada.

Recent polls show Kennedy gaining traction in what the Kennedy campaign calls a three-way race against Biden and former president Trump. While still a long-shot candidate behind the Democratic and Republican frontrunners, Kennedy is consistently gaining double-digit support among independent voters — the largest political bloc in the U.S.

In January, Gallup reported that 43 percent of U.S. adults on average identify as independent. In contrast, 27 percent of U.S. adults equally identify as Republicans and Democrats.

Thirty percent of independents said they would vote for Kennedy, according to a Quinnipiac poll released in February, compared to 32 percent for Biden and 25 percent for Trump. Among all registered voters in the survey, both Biden and Trump are nearly tied with 38 and 37 percent, respectively. Kennedy, however, remains at 15 percent.