RFK Jr. Super PAC Hauls in $2.1M After VP Pick Named

(AP)

American Values 2024, a super PAC supporting independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., said it raised $2.1 million Tuesday night following the announcement that Nicole Shanahan would be his running mate.

About 60 donors showed up Tuesday night at a cocktail party/fundraiser the group held for Kennedy, The Hill reported Wednesday. Earlier Tuesday, Kennedy named Shanahan, a lawyer and tech entrepreneur, as his vice presidential candidate.

“They were clearly energized by RFK Jr’s VP pick Nicole Shanahan,” Tony Lyons, the group’s co-founder, said in a statement to The Hill. “We raised $2,120,000, which proves that attendees see that Mr. Kennedy now has an increasingly clear path to the presidency.

“Many had said previously that they liked him and they trusted him but felt he couldn’t win. With 70% of Americans wanting an option other than [Joe] Biden and [Donald] Trump, more and more voters are beginning to understand what Mr. Kennedy would do as president. They are listening to his ideas and his policies and they like what they hear.”

Lyons told The Hill the amount raised was the second-largest for an event by the organization. In January, he said American Values 2024 raised $5.8 million during a 70th birthday celebration for Kennedy in West Hollywood, California.

Because it is a super PAC, American Values 2024 cannot coordinate with the Kennedy campaign. But it has pledged to back his efforts to get his name on the ballot in all 50 states for November’s election and said it will spend at least $10 million in ads supporting the campaign.

Kennedy could become the most impactful independent presidential candidate since Ross Perot in 1992. Perot won 18.9% of the popular vote and likely denied George H.W. Bush a second term, delivering the White House to Bill Clinton.