Cash struggles continued for RFK Jr. in June

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s campaign reported another month in the red in June, despite fresh cash infusion from his running mate, lawyer Nicole Shanahan.

Kennedy’s campaign reported raising just shy of $5.4 million — including $2.5 million from Shanahan — and spending more than $6.2 million in the month of June, according to a Friday afternoon filing with the Federal Election Commission. The totals underscore the continued financial challenges for the independent presidential campaign as he seeks to get on the ballot in November.

At the end of the month, his campaign had just $5.5 million cash on hand, down from $6.4 million the previous month, as well as more than $3 million in debt.

Aside from Shanahan’s donation, which included $2.5 million in cash as well as more than $330,000 in in-kind contributions covering her travel expenses and media production, the campaign brought in only a bit over $2.5 million, roughly flat compared to the previous month.

Meanwhile the campaign continued to rack up expenses, including another more than $1.1 million paid to the firm Accelevate 2020, which works on ballot access, as well as $240,000 to Allied Data Service for ballot access consulting.

The campaign also spent nearly $750,000 on internet advertising in June, $461,000 on media production and $261,000 on marketing consulting.

The Kennedy campaign also reported more than $3 million in debt as of the end of the month, roughly $419,000 of which was newly accumulated in June for travel-related security expenses, owed to a security firm owned by his longtime associate Gavin de Becker. Kennedy has long argued that his campaign should get U.S. Secret Service protection, which was granted earlier this week after the assassination attempt against former President Donald Trump.

Rumors circulated earlier this week that Kennedy might be dropping out of the race after he met with Trump on Monday in Milwaukee, who was seeking his endorsement. But Kennedy said later in the week that he was not dropping out and hoped to meet with Democratic leaders as well.

In an effort to increase avenues for fundraising, his campaign on Friday set up a joint fundraising committee with the Libertarian National Committee, an unusual step for an independent candidate that allows large donors to give to both him and the national party. Still, the flow of money from that group to Kennedy’s campaign will still be limited to $3,300 per donor.