A brilliant PAC supporting the presidential ambitions of longshot Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. reported receiving greater than half its practically $10 million in funds from a single GOP donor.
The donations underscore that whereas Kennedy enjoys the surname of Democratic royalty, his message can be resonating with Republicans.
The group, American Values 2024, launched the identical month Kennedy set out on his personal longshot bid in opposition to President Joe Biden within the Democratic main. It formally reported elevating $9.8 million by way of the tip of June and mentioned on Monday that it had additionally raised $6 million within the month of July, bringing its complete fundraising to roughly $16 million.
Its first monetary report, which covers contributions by way of the tip of June, contains donations from each GOP and Democratic donors. However the donors who’ve beforehand backed Republicans accounted for a a lot higher share of the cash raised.
Of the $9.8 million reported, $5 million got here from Timothy Mellon, a longtime GOP donor who gave $1.5 million to a Trump-aligned group final fall, in accordance with marketing campaign finance information. In a press launch earlier Monday, Mellon touted Kennedy’s bipartisan credentials, calling him “the one Democrat who can win in the general election.”
Many of the remainder of the tremendous PAC’s fundraising by way of the tip of June got here from Gavin De Becker, an creator and guide who reported giving the group $4.5 million. De Becker has a political donation historical past that features each Democrats and Republicans. He has served as a detailed adviser to Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.
The tremendous PAC additionally bought smaller contributions from a handful of Democratic donors, together with Abby Rockefeller, who gave $100,000. However these contributions accounted for under a small share of the tremendous PAC’s complete fundraising. The tremendous PAC additionally reported receiving $50,000 from Most cancers Month-to-month Inc., a publication that touts “alternative” most cancers therapies, similar to nutritional vitamins.
American Values 2024 has reported spending on newspaper commercials in early main states, though it’s largely holding onto money up to now.
The tremendous PAC’s backing from a significant GOP donor will doubtless additional Democratic arguments that Kennedy isn’t aligned with the get together’s targets. The highest donors who gave on to Kennedy’s marketing campaign within the first few months additionally included dozens of people who had beforehand given cash to Trump or DeSantis, in accordance with a POLITICO evaluation of marketing campaign finance filings.
