The Democratic National Committee has filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission alleging independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.‘s presidential campaign and super PAC have been illegally colluding regarding ballot access.
The DNC’s assertive posture toward Kennedy coincides with concerns he will help former President Donald Trump in the presidential election by attracting support from voters who may have otherwise cast a ballot for President Joe Biden.
During a phone call with reporters, DNC attorney Robert Lenhard accused Kennedy of accepting an unlawful $15 million in-kind contribution from a super PAC, American Values 2024, as it assists in coordinating ballot access on his behalf.
“The Kennedy campaign has acknowledged that it is time-consuming and expensive for a first-time candidate to get on the presidential ballot in all 50 states,” Lenhard said Friday. “Rather than doing that hard work itself, using money raised in compliance with the candidate contribution limits, the campaign is taking a shortcut, outsourcing what is otherwise a core campaign function to its super PAC.”
“American Values 2024 has announced plans to pay for signature collection in over a dozen states,” he added. “In each of these states, state law presumes and, in most states, requires that the candidate or the campaign committee take the steps necessary to qualify for the ballot. This includes requiring the candidate to submit a draft signature petition for state approval, requiring the candidate to turn in the completed petition forms, requiring the candidate to identify the individuals who will collect the signatures, and requiring the candidate to obtain certification for the circulators.”
Under state law, the Kennedy campaign and American Values 2024 must integrate their operations so that the super PAC’s ballot access spending could be considered an in-kind contribution to the campaign pursuant to the FEC rules and not an independent expenditure, according to Lenhard.
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The Kennedy campaign and American Values 2024 did not respond to the Washington Examiner‘s request for comment, but both will have the opportunity to explain themselves to the FEC.
When pollsters include Kennedy as an option, Trump tends to prevail over Biden 39% to 34%, with Kennedy receiving 17%, per RealClearPolitics. Without Kennedy, Trump only averages a 2 percentage point advantage, 46% to 44%.
