Super PAC raises $2.1 million after RFK Jr. announced his running mate

The super PAC supporting Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s independent bid for president raised $2.1 million at a small private reception on Tuesday after the announcement of Kennedy’s running mate. About half of that haul came from PAC co-founder Mark Gorton.

Gorton, who co-founded Limewire and founded the trading firm Tower Research Capital, said he felt his $1 million cash infusion would help propel the campaign forward following the “inspired choice” of Nicole Shanahan as Kennedy’s running mate.

“The thing that encourages me so much is that there are people around the country who are independently seeing the same things going on and are wanting to do something, and stepping forward, and now the whole RFK Jr. campaign provides a nexus for this interest,” Gorton said in an interview with POLITICO. “And people who felt isolated and marginalized, like there was nothing they can do, they're now seeing that there is this political movement that’s swelling up.”

Gorton feels positively about Shanahan adding to Kennedy’s outsider status, despite some online chagrin about her work in Silicon Valley and previous history of donating to Democrats. But Gorton said Shanahan had a political transformation.

“I think Nicole has been on her personal journey. I think Nicole of five years ago probably thought very differently about the world than she does today,” Gorton said. “I personally think she's a fantastic choice, and I have no concerns. But I can see why Kennedy supporters would have questions. I mean, they're a skeptical bunch.”

Shanahan, a tech attorney and entrepreneur, spoke about her child’s autism diagnosis and environmental factors that may contribute to disease at Tuesday’s event announcing her selection in Oakland, California. Gorton saw this as her suggesting that her child was vaccine-injured, and he felt Shanahan was being censored because news networks didn’t show her full speech.

“She alluded to it. She basically said that there [are] chemical exposures, electromagnetic [pollution] and medicine. So she was broad and she was soft. This is still a watered-down version of how you would say it,” Gorton said of Shanahan’s speech. “But even that watered-down version was too much.”

“We have an epidemic of vaccine injuries in this country, and that is a subject that's verboten,” Gorton said.

There is no scientific evidence that vaccines cause autism. A widely shared study linking the two was retracted in 2010.

Shanahan did not speak at the American Values fundraiser and left soon after it started, Gorton said. Kennedy gave brief remarks on issues similar to his public announcement. About 40 people attended the private event.

Shanahan was previously a donor to American Values 2024. She donated $4 million to the super PAC in January through the LLC, Planeta Management, and it covered most of the costs of the group’s Super Bowl ad this February.

“I know that my money is going to be well spent no matter what. We’re looking to do dynamic, creative, innovative things that are going to change the way the country thinks and catalyzes a movement, and Bobby becoming president of the United States is just part of a much larger path,” Gorton said in a video of his remarks at the Oakland fundraiser.

A seven-figure fundraising haul is significant — especially for an independent candidate — but it’s smaller than previous events hosted by American Values 2024.

After Kennedy declared he was running as an independent in October,the PAC raised $11 million at a post-announcement fundraiser. For Kennedy’s 70th birthday in January,American Values hosted a Hollywood gala that brought in $5.8 million, of which $5 million came from GOP megadonor Tim Mellon. And without a featured PAC event, American Values was able to collect $5 million on the day Kennedy testified in front of Congress’ House Judiciary Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government last July.

Shanahan, now that she is running on the ticket, can contribute an unlimited amount to Kennedy's campaign but cannot communicate with or donate to the super PAC.

American Values 2024 has raised $42 million but has spent $24 million since its launch, according to its most recent campaign finance filings.

Much of the incoming — and outgoing — cash flow to the PAC is connected to Gavin de Becker, a private security firm owner, whose company also provides security to the Kennedy campaign. De Beckercalls his donations and subsequent partial refunds, “bridge funding.” While it’s atypical for a PAC, de Becker said he sees this kind of transaction in the business world all the time.

The DNC subsequently filed a complaint about the transactions, calling them a failure to “meet its reporting obligations in connection with loans from, and loan repayments to, Gavin de Becker.”

That was the second complaint from the Democrats against American Values 2024 this election cycle — a signal that Democrats are worried about Kennedy's effect on the election.

But Gorton highlighted in his remarks that his dedication and contribution are about more than just Kennedy’s candidacy in 2024.

“We are committed. This is not a bunch of political operatives. Almost no one in our organization has political experience,” Gorton said in Oakland. “We’re making this up as we go along.”