Dear MoveOn member,

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.—who has long peddled far-right conspiracy theories—has put an end to the speculation and made it official: He's running for president in an independent bid that could spoil the election for President Joe Biden and hand an Electoral College victory to Donald Trump in 2024.¹

From the moment he first started running, it's been clear that Kennedy is no Democrat. He's spread conspiracy theories and misinformation about everything from vaccines to Ukraine, repeatedly taking positions that put him well outside the mainstream of the Democratic Party and close to the QAnon wing of the Republican Party.^2,3

Now that Kennedy has seen what the rest of us have known for months—that he has next to no support among Democratic primary voters—he's decided to take his campaign independent.

Let's be clear: The winner of the 2024 election will either be President Biden or the Republican nominee, which will most likely be Trump.⁴ Kennedy's independent campaign will serve only to siphon votes that otherwise would've been cast for one of the other candidates.

This makes MoveOn's voter mobilization work even more critical than it already was.

Can you donate $9 to help us lay the groundwork to turn out voters for President Biden in key states across the country?

In 2020, the Electoral College was decided by a few thousand votes in a handful of states—and we expect the same to be true next year.⁵ If Kennedy manages to win votes from just a fraction of independents or moderate Republicans who otherwise would've voted for Biden, he could throw the election right to Trump, putting the future of our democracy on a knife's edge.

And we should be clear-eyed about the threat here. While Kennedy never managed to garner any real support among Democratic primary voters, his Super PAC raised $11 million within hours of his relaunching his campaign as an independent.⁶

Plus, Kennedy is talking about courting the support of fellow conspiracy theorist Elon Musk, who has already hosted Kennedy during livestreams on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.⁷

The combination of big money and support from big names like Musk could create the conditions that allow Kennedy to siphon a significant number of votes away from President Biden—especially if Musk continues to use the reach of his recently purchased social media platform to boost Kennedy's standing.

Our democracy can't afford another four years of Trump in the White House. But that's exactly what Kennedy's independent campaign could give us if we don't put our voter mobilization efforts into overdrive.

So John, please don't sit this one out. If you want to make sure we have everything we need to put MoveOn's proven voter turnout model into action and make sure as many people as possible turn out for Biden in key swing states, give $9 or anything you can today to help us fight back.

Thanks for all you do.

–Mohammad, Emily, Madeleine, Cheryl, and the rest of the team

Sources:

1. "Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announces independent run for president, ending Democratic primary challenge to Biden," CNN, October 9, 2023
https://act.moveon.org/go/184612?t=4&akid=366400%2E40999114%2EGydjPj

2. "RFK Jr. says he's not anti-vaccine. His record shows the opposite. It's one of many inconsistencies," AP News, July 31, 2023
https://act.moveon.org/go/184613?t=6&akid=366400%2E40999114%2EGydjPj

3. "RFK Jr. says Russia 'acting in good faith' in Ukraine invasion, US in part to blame for war," The Hill, June 22, 2023
https://act.moveon.org/go/184614?t=8&akid=366400%2E40999114%2EGydjPj

4. "CBS News poll finds Trump's big lead grows, as GOP voters dismiss indictments," CBS News, August 20, 2023
https://act.moveon.org/go/184615?t=10&akid=366400%2E40999114%2EGydjPj

5. "Narrow Wins In These Key States Powered Biden To The Presidency," NPR, December 2, 2020
https://act.moveon.org/go/184616?t=12&akid=366400%2E40999114%2EGydjPj

6. "RFK Jr. super PAC raises $11 million within hours and courts Elon Musk's support," Politico, October 10, 2023
https://act.moveon.org/go/184617?t=14&akid=366400%2E40999114%2EGydjPj

7. "With Robert F. Kennedy Jr. interview, Musk again uses Twitter to promote candidates aligned with his views," CNN, June 5, 2023
https://act.moveon.org/go/184618?t=16&akid=366400%2E40999114%2EGydjPj

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