(WatchDogReport.org) – Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s vice presidential pick, tech attorney and entrepreneur Nicole Shanahan, is donating $8 million toward their campaign. Shanahan announced her donation on May 15 at a campaign fundraiser and comedy show in Nashville, Tennessee. During her announcement, she said she was aware the donation would attract criticism, suggesting some would claim, “Bobby only picked me for my money.”
In a May 16 statement, she said the donation was about more than “funding our own campaign” but about eliminating the “existing two-party duopoly” in presidential elections.
The $8 million is double the amount of donations they received in March, according to financial disclosures that show the campaign had significant debt. When Kennedy announced Shanahan as his running mate in March, she made a $2 million donation. Before joining Kennedy on the ticket, Shanahan, who filed for divorce from Google co-founder Sergey Brin in 2021, also donated $4.5 million to two super PACs backing Kennedy. Candidates, under federal election laws, can contribute an unlimited amount of money to their campaigns.
The $ 8 million donation will be strategically used to cover the campaign’s ballot access expenses. This is crucial as, in each state, Kennedy must collect signatures to get his name on the ballot, according to campaign manager Amaryllis Fox Kennedy. She expressed the campaign’s excitement, stating that the donation will help them get on the ballot ‘in all 50 states plus DC ‘, a testament to their strategic planning and determination.
The independent candidate hopes he can meet the requirements to be involved in the first presidential debate, hosted by CNN in June. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. must poll at more than 15 percent in select surveys, and by June 20, his name must appear on the ballot in enough states to earn him a majority of Electoral College votes. Currently, he is on the ballot in four states. However, his campaign says it has enough signatures to qualify him for the ballot in 14 states, though some have not started their review process.
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