Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is coming up short in fundraising for his campaign despite trying a myriad of strategies.
Kennedy has sold $10 raffle tickets for excursions with him and his wife, comedian Cheryl Hines, but has not seen growth in the number of small donations, which currently make up over one-fourth of his funds but only add up to $11 million.
Campaign auctions in April, March, and February failed to reach their goals, with the latest auction raising only half of its $100,000 goal. As a result, the campaign has not hosted another auction since.
Fortunately for Kennedy, his running mate, Nicole Shanahan, contributed $10 million out of her own pocket to the campaign or else it would have nearly overspent its funds. The campaign has raised over $43 million, including Shanahan’s contribution.
Additionally, the campaign began offering its volunteers commission on the merchandise and event tickets it sells. Should volunteers become affiliates, 15% of what they raise is paid back to them.
“We launched this program to increase our reach while also compensating our hardworking field volunteers and professional ad affiliates,” Deputy Digital Director Audra Gold said at the time of the announcement. “By signing up for our affiliate program, volunteers can get paid by promoting campaign merchandise and events, and encouraging supporters to make donations.”
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As an independent candidate, it has cost Kennedy to collect signatures. American Values 2024 helped the campaign collect signatures in several states until the Democratic National Committee filed a complaint that the campaign did not disclose a $10 million loan to the super PAC until it had repaid 96% of it. However, one of the states the super PAC collected signatures in was Nevada, which might become invalid because at the time the signatures were collected, Kennedy had not named his running mate.
The Kennedy campaign claims its candidate is on the ballot in Utah, Michigan, California, Delaware, Oklahoma, Hawaii, and Texas. As of Saturday, it claimed to have gathered enough signatures to appear on ballots in New Hampshire, Nevada, North Carolina, Idaho, Nebraska, Iowa, Ohio, New Jersey, and New York.
