Kennedy's Campaign Still In The Red Despite Running Mate Shanahan's $2.5M Boost — Will He Exit The Presidential Race?

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s campaign remained in deficit in June despite receiving a financial boost from his running mate, lawyer Nicole Shanahan.

The campaign raised nearly $5.4 million, with $2.5 million contributed by Shanahan, but expenditures exceeded $6.2 million, reported Politico, citing a recent filing with the Federal Election Commission.

The figures highlight ongoing financial hurdles for the independent presidential candidate as he aims to secure a ballot placement for November.

By month’s end, Kennedy’s campaign held $5.5 million in cash, a decrease from $6.4 million the previous month, along with over $3 million in debt.

In addition to Shanahan’s contribution of $2.5 million in cash and over $330,000 in in-kind contributions for travel expenses and media production, the campaign raised just over $2.5 million, showing minimal change from the previous month, the report added.

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Meanwhile, the campaign continued to incur expenses, including over $1.1 million paid to Accelevate 2020 for ballot access efforts, along with $240,000 to Allied Data Service for ballot access consulting.

Additionally, the campaign allocated nearly $750,000 for internet advertising in June, $461,000 for media production and $261,000 for marketing consulting.

As of the end of the month, the Kennedy campaign reported over $3 million in debt. In June, approximately $419,000 of this debt was accrued for travel-related security expenses owed to a security firm owned by his longtime associate Gavin de Becker.

Kennedy has advocated for U.S. Secret Service protection for his campaign, which was granted recently following the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump.

Earlier this week, rumors suggested Kennedy might exit the race after meeting Trump in Milwaukee on Monday, where Trump sought his endorsement, Politico added.

Kennedy clarified later in the week that he had no plans to drop out and aimed to meet with Democratic leaders too.

Yesterday, in a bid to expand fundraising opportunities, his campaign established a joint fundraising committee with the Libertarian National Committee.

This unconventional move for an independent candidate permits major donors to contribute to both Kennedy and the national party. However, individual contributions from this group to Kennedy’s campaign remain capped at $3,300, the report added.

Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.

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