Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has 8 million reasons to be happy with his pick for vice president.
That’s because his running mate, Nicole Shanahan, has contributed $8 million in their bid for the White House.
Shanahan, an attorney and entrepreneur, announced the news at a comedy show and campaign fundraiser Wednesday night in Nashville, Tennessee, per Politico.
The two are running as independents.
“This isn’t just about funding our own campaign,” Shanahan said Thursday. “We want to liberate presidential elections from the grip of the existing two-party duopoly, and revitalize American democracy.”
Shanahan spoke of how it seems her financial contributions add value to her presence on the ticket.
“I think I know what they’re going to say — they’re going to say Bobby only picked me for my money,” Shanahan Wednesday night, according to the New York Times.
Kennedy’s Campaign manager Amaryllis Fox Kennedy said the funding will cover all of the campaign’s ballot access expenses.
Since he is running as an independent, Kennedy must get signatures in each state to get his name on the ballot.
Kennedy is not expected to meet the 15% polling requirement and be on the ballot in enough states to get a majority of Electoral College votes to partake in the CNN debate in June.
He is on the ballot in four states.
Even though the campaign claims to have enough signatures to be on the ballots in many states, some have not started the review process.
A majority of the deadlines to certify are in the late summer, after the first debate.
Shanahan’s contribution will help alleviate the debt incurred by the campaign helped by high spending.
