Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is the subject of some notable new advertising — from a group with Republican ties and on a subject that is one of the Democratic Party’s key campaign issues.
The new group, called “SAG PAC,” was established in June, according to a Federal Election Commission filing. It has not yet filed reports detailing any of its donors, but it is already running ads online, spending more than $137,000 so far on Google platforms, according to the platform’s ad disclosure portal.
The YouTube ads feature pictures of Kennedy alongside banners reading “pro-choice” and “progressive Democrat.” Meanwhile, a narrator says, “Robert F. Kennedy Jr. wants to restore abortion rights nationally,” adding that he has “a long record fighting for abortion rights. That’s the real RFK.”
The color scheme and tone of the ads are cheerful. And the group behind the ads has Republican connections. Its bank account is at Chain Bridge Bank, a Virginia financial institution that has cornered the market on banking for Republican campaigns and PACs, including former President Donald Trump’s. (The pro-Kennedy super PAC has also used Chain Bridge Bank, while Kennedy’s campaign has used Amalgamated Bank, long favored by Democratic campaigns.)
SAG PAC’s treasurer is Charles Gantt, who is listed on FEC filings holding the same position for numerous PACs backing Republican candidates.
The ads, which are concentrated in five swing states, come amid a furious battle for support in the 2024 presidential race — and questions about whether Kennedy’s presence on the ballot cuts more into Democratic candidate Kamala Harris’ potential base or Trump’s.
By calling Kennedy “pro-choice,” the ad appears designed to attract voters who might otherwise vote for Harris — or possibly to push away conservative voters who might be Kennedy-curious.
The ad’s focus on abortion rights highlights an issue where Kennedy’s stance has wavered throughout his time on the campaign trail. His campaign has walked back interview answers he’s given on abortion policy two different times. Last year, Kennedy told NBC News that he would sign a ban on abortion after 15 weeks before reversing course and saying he misheard the question. Then, in May, Kennedy’s running mate, Nicole Shanahan, expressed surprise about a comment on abortion that Kennedy had made to the same podcast host.
Kennedy said after that time that “abortion should be legal up until a certain number of weeks, and restricted thereafter. … Once the baby is viable outside the womb, it should have rights and it deserves society’s protection.” He and his campaign have since highlighted his point about fetal viability.
Before President Joe Biden dropped out of the race, two NBC News national polls showed Kennedy taking more support from Trump, but other surveys have shown Kennedy, a longtime former Democrat whose father ran for the 1968 Democratic presidential nomination, cutting more into Biden’s support. Meanwhile, new polling of the Harris-Trump race suggests the new matchup is encouraging more voters to pick a major-party contender.
In an interview with CBS News that aired Friday, Kennedy said he told Trump during their meeting last week in Milwaukee that he was pulling more support from him than from Democrats.
“I hope to draw votes from both of them,” Kennedy said. “Right now, I draw many more votes from President Trump than from the Democrats … He isn’t happy. In fact, [at] the RNC, I told him that when I saw him. And he was like, ‘Yeah, we got to do something about that.’”
Kennedy’s campaign is currently on the ballot in 13 states, according to NBC News analysis of his ballot-access efforts. He is aiming to be on the ballot in all 50 states in November.
Gantt did not reply to questions about the new PAC and ads. Rahna Epting, the executive director of the liberal group MoveOn, which is backing Harris, said the digital ads were “a sad and desperate attempt by Trump allies to weaponize Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s candidacy.” She added, “The stakes are too high this November for any progressive to vote for a third-party spoiler over Vice President Harris.”
