RFK Jr. raises more than $7M in fourth quarter

Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. raised more than $7 million during the fourth quarter of 2023, according to a Federation Election Commission (FEC) filing. 

The filing shows the funds added to the roughly $6.1 million the campaign had in the bank entering the quarter. But it also spent nearly $7.8 million in that time, dropping the long-shot candidate’s cash on hand to $5.4 million. 

The prominent environmental lawyer and vaccine skeptic originally ran in the Democratic primary against President Biden before switching to run as an independent in October. 

Despite his initial run as a Democrat, Kennedy’s campaign has received criticism from members of his former party for raising conspiracy theories surrounding vaccines and parts of U.S. history.

It has also received backlash for its donor base, with numerous people who have supported Republicans in past elections donating to Kennedy. Critics argue these donors are seeking to use his candidacy to weaken Biden in the general election. 

A Politico analysis found that about $5 million that Kennedy took in were itemized donations of greater than $200, and of those, about $224,000 came from donors to former President Trump’s 2020 presidential campaign. 

Only $105,000 came from donors to Biden’s 2020 campaign. 

The number of former Trump donors who gave at least $200 to Trump in 2020 and Kennedy now dropped slightly from the third to the fourth quarter, Politico reported. 

A super PAC supporting Kennedy’s candidacy previously revealed in an FEC filing in August that half of its donations through 2023 so far had come from Timothy Mellon, a major GOP donor.

The report comes as the candidate is weighing a potential Libertarian bid, which has raised concerns among Democrats over Biden’s reelection prospects.