The Drive to Tell Voters What They Don’t Know About R.F.K. Jr.

Pretty much every presidential election includes a smattering of third-party and independent candidates — minor players who have slim to no chance of winning but who can seriously damage the electoral chances of the major-party nominees. This year, with so many Americans unhappy about a rematch between President Biden and Donald Trump, alternative contenders are enjoying a moment, with one candidate in particular earning a surprising amount of support: Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

A scion of America’s most famous political family, Mr. Kennedy is polling in the low double digits. With his quirky political brand, it is hard to know who his candidacy would wind up hurting more in November, Mr. Biden or Mr. Trump. But Team Biden is taking no chances: The Democratic National Committee has a war room up and running aimed at handling third-party threats such as Mr. Kennedy. One of the most senior members of this effort is Lis Smith, the veteran communications guru best known for helping soup up Pete Buttigieg’s 2020 presidential run.

Ms. Smith is handling the public-facing effort to take down Mr. Kennedy and his kind. She and I had a phone chat recently about what this will take, and how she is feeling about this crazy election landscape. The interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Michelle Cottle: You are a senior member of the Biden campaign’s war room targeting third-party candidates — which sounds pretty ominous. But what exactly does this entail?

Lis Smith: I am overseeing the communications effort for the D.N.C. that is responsible for tracking the independent and third-party candidates. It is the first time that any effort like this has ever existed. The idea for it came about because Democrats learned the lessons of 2000 and 2016, when third-party candidates played the role of spoiler and helped elect Republicans. So given that democracy is on the line in 2024, we are leaving nothing to chance and making sure that we have a whole team that is dedicated to tracking these candidates and making sure that voters are fully informed about them.