RFK Jr.’s Running Mate Nicole Shanahan Injects $8 Million to Secure Nationwide Ballot Access

Presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (R) announces his running mate Nicole Shanahan (L) in Oakland, Calif., on March 26, 2024. Josh Edelson/AFP via Getty Images

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Independent presidential campaign announced on Thursday, May 16, that it had successfully secured the necessary funding to achieve ballot access across all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

This milestone, the campaign said, ensures that voters nationwide will have a third-party option in the upcoming presidential election. It was made possible by a large donation to the campaign from RFK Jr.’s Vice Presidential running mate Nicole Shanahan.

The campaign in a press release said that in April Ms. Shanahan contributed an “additional $8 million” to the campaign, facilitating this achievement. Shanahan emphasized the broader implications of her own funds being put into the campaign.

“This isn’t just about funding our own campaign,” said Ms. Shanahan. “We want to liberate presidential elections from the grip of the existing two-party duopoly, and revitalize American democracy.”

Ms. Shanahan further highlighted the opportunity presented by the current political climate, adding, “Nobody thinks the Democrat-Republican domination of our system is a good thing. Since their candidates are so unpopular, this year is the perfect time to challenge it.”

Current Ballot Access Status

The Kennedy-Shanahan ticket has already secured a place on the ballot in six states: Utah, Michigan, California, Delaware, Oklahoma, and Texas. Additionally, the campaign said they had collected the required signatures for ballot access in eight other states: New Hampshire, Nevada, Hawaii, North Carolina, Idaho, Nebraska, Iowa, and Ohio.

In total, the campaign has met the signature requirements for ballot access in 14 states, representing 187 electoral votes, which accounts for 35 percent of the 538 total electoral votes nationwide. For a candidate to win the presidency they must secure 270 electoral college votes.

The campaign said they were committed to announcing one to three new states per week where they have secured ballot access.

Campaign Manager Amaryllis Kennedy underscored the challenges independent candidates face in achieving ballot access and the significance of overcoming these hurdles.

“The expense of ballot access—in both time and treasure—is one of the establishment’s most powerful cudgels against independent political thought,” said Ms. Kennedy. “Americans demand and deserve an alternative to the broken status quo. We are thrilled to put these funds to work crossing the finish line in all 50 states plus D.C.”

Ballot access in a number of states is key for Mr. Kennedy to join the presidential debate stage with former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden. As both of Mr. Kennedy’s opponents agreed to a debate on CNN in June, the requirements to be on the debate stage included the candidate’s name appearing on a sufficient number of state ballots to reach the 270 electoral vote threshold to win the presidency and receive at least 15 percent in four separate national polls of registered or likely voters.

Kennedy has, in some polls, received at least 15 percent of the vote but has not yet qualified on a sufficient number of state ballots to reach the 270 electoral votes required to secure the presidency.

Shanahan’s Prior Contributions

Earlier this month, Ms. Shanahan, once a staunch supporter of the Democratic party, urged supporters to follow her lead earlier this month and donate to members of Congress who are Constitutional advocates—and the first member on her list was a libertarian Republican.

“Gearing up to make some big donations to members of Congress who are protecting our Constitutional freedoms,” Ms. Shanahan said in a social media post on X, formerly Twitter, on May 9. “Who are your favorite[s]? [Rep. Thomas Massie] is at the top [of] my list.”

On March 27, Ms. Shanahan sent $2 million to Team Kennedy as a “candidate for vice president contribution.”

The donation was the largest single contribution to the Kennedy campaign during the month. It surpassed the about $1.3 million American Values 2024 collected in March. American Values is the Super PAC supportive of Mr. Kennedy’s campaign.

Ms. Shanahan, a lawyer, entrepreneur, and investor, was formerly married to Google co-founder Sergey Brin. In May 2023, she sent Mr. Kennedy $6,600.

According to donor records maintained by watchdog group OpenSecrets, Ms. Shanahan was not a significant political donor prior to this year. However, she has given limited amounts to Democratic candidates, including President Joe Biden and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, in the past.

She also gave $4 million to American Values 2024 which helped create the Kennedy Super Bowl television ad earlier this year.

Ms. Shanahan founded Clear Access IP (now IPwe), a tech law firm that uses AI to analyze and manage client patent portfolios. In 2020, she left the company and founded the Bia-Echo Foundation, which according to its website, invests in “reproductive longevity and equality, criminal justice reform, and a healthy and livable planet.”