Allies of RFK Jr. say they will spend more than $10 million on ballot access
A super PAC supporting the independent presidential candidacy of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. supports, plans to spend $10 million to $15 million to get Mr. Kennedy on the ballot in 10 states, a significant effort that, even if partially successful, could heighten Democratic concerns. about his potential to play the role of spoiler in 2024.
The hefty sum underlines the challenge facing Mr. Kennedy, an environmental lawyer and prominent purveyor of conspiracy theories, as he pursues his long-awaited bid for the White House. It also shows the substantial financial support he has generated to date.
The super PAC, American Values 2024, has raised at least $28 million. (The group last announced its unofficial fundraising in early October, but has not filed any official documents since its required semi-annual reports to the Federal Election Commission in July, when it had $9.8 million on hand.) The group was from plan to announce the strategy. Monday, according to a draft announcement reviewed by The New York Times.
The states, which include several battleground states, are among the most populous in the country and have a combined 210 Electoral College votes: Arizona, California, Colorado, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Nevada, New York and Texas.
Mr. Kennedy’s campaign, as well as the efforts of No Labels, the Green Party and other independent candidates, have worried President Biden’s campaign and his Democratic allies. They fear such campaigns could siphon votes away from Mr. Biden and tilt the election toward his likely Republican opponent, former President Donald J. Trump.
States make their own rules for ballot access. Independent candidates must navigate a labyrinthine network that handles signature collections and financial reporting requirements. The effort is time-consuming and expensive.
In an interview this year, Ralph Nader, who twice ran for president as a Green Party candidate, estimated that it would cost at least $5 million to simply collect signatures to qualify for mail-in ballots. The inevitable legal battle to defend ballot access would require many more millions of dollars, he said.
Marc Elias, one of the Democratic Party’s top election lawyers, has been tapped by the super PAC American Bridge to investigate access to ballots from third parties and independent candidates in battleground states where such candidates could damage Mr. Biden.
Mr. Elias said in an interview last month that he would do everything he could to ensure that any candidate who could pose a threat to Mr. Biden followed the precise letter of the law when it comes to qualifying for the ballot.
“The law is the law. The law requires candidates to appear on the ballot in a certain way,” Mr Elias said. “Once you have the rules you have for access to ballots, you have to comply with them and there is no exception to that.”
Kennedy entered the presidential race in April as a Democratic challenger to Biden, but ended his bid for the party’s nomination in October, arguing that the Democrats’ primary system was rigged against him.
From the start, Mr. Kennedy has drawn support from disaffected Democrats, Republicans and independents, some of whom were attracted to his anti-establishment message. A poll released last month by The New York Times and Siena College found that unfavorable opinions of Mr. Biden and Mr. Trump left an opening for independent candidates like Mr. Kennedy.
Democrats are not alone in their concerns about Kennedy’s candidacy. The Republican National Committee sent an email the day he announced his independent bid titled “23 Reasons to Oppose RFK Jr.,” which listed his past alignment with Democrats.