Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s running mate, Silicon Valley investor Nicole Shanahan, said Wednesday evening that she had donated another $8 million to her independent presidential campaign as it undertakes the costly undertaking of gaining access across the country ballots and trying to catapult Mr. Kennedy onto the debate stage.
Ms. Shanahan’s new donation, announced at a comedy fundraiser in Nashville, brings her total contribution to the campaign to $10 million, not including the $4 million she gave to a super PAC that Mr . Kennedy helped fund a Super Bowl ad earlier this year. Ms. Shanahan, a lawyer formerly married to Google co-founder Sergey Brin, gave $2 million to the campaign shortly after Mr. Kennedy named her his running mate in March.
After a nod to the media, Ms. Shanahan said, “I think I know what they’re going to say – they’re going to say Bobby just picked me because of my money,” a remark that drew laughter from the crowd.
Ms. Shanahan’s comments came near the end of a four-hour event at Nashville’s venerable Ryman Auditorium. She watched performances by comedians such as Russell Brand, Rob Schneider and Jim Breuer, a former “Saturday Night Live” cast member. Many of the cast praised Mr. Kennedy, but also used their time on stage to advocate against Covid vaccinations, Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the mainstream news media, and President Biden.
Ms. Shanahan’s personal assets were significant assets to Mr. Kennedy. While campaign finance laws prohibit individuals from donating more than $6,600 to a campaign, candidates themselves can donate unlimited amounts of their own money.
Her money has been a financial lifeline as her campaign makes a costly attempt to get on the ballot in all 50 states – which would be a challenging and costly undertaking under any circumstances, even more so because the Democratic Party and its allies have promised to participate Choice to participate in legal challenges for the effort.
Ms. Shanahan made her announcement the same day that Mr. Biden and former President Donald J. Trump agreed to two debates, one on June 27 on CNN and another on September 10 on ABC News. In doing so, they rejected the traditional Commission on Presidential Debates, which had hosted the events for decades.
Both candidates tried to keep Mr. Kennedy off the stage, with Mr. Biden’s campaign chairwoman, Jennifer O’Malley Dillon, specifically writing in a letter to the commission: “President Biden has clearly stated his terms for two individual debates, and Donald Trump has Conditions accepted.”
But Mr. Kennedy could potentially qualify for the CNN debate, and the effort may actually be easier under the network’s election rules than it would have been under debate commission guidelines. Mr. Kennedy must show at least 15 percent support in four approved national polls between March 13 and June 20. He already has at least two polls showing him above that threshold, one from CNN and one from Quinnipiac University. He has another five weeks to receive more qualified surveys.
To qualify for the CNN debate, Mr. Kennedy must also vote in enough states to potentially win the 270 Electoral College votes needed to be elected president. He is currently on the ballot in five states that have a total of 84 electoral votes. However, his campaign still has five weeks to get him on the ballot in other states before the deadline to participate in the debate expires.
Mr. Kennedy criticized both Mr. Biden and Mr. Trump after news of their scheduled debates emerged on Wednesday.
“They are trying to exclude me from their debate because they are afraid I will win,” he wrote on social media. “Keeping viable candidates out of the debate undermines democracy.”
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2024-05-16 06:14:25
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