By Rebecca Ballhaus
Billionaire Elon Musk donated $3 million this week to a super PAC working to convince Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s supporters to vote for Donald Trump, the Tesla CEO's latest outlay in the presidential race.
The super PAC-MAHA Alliance, for Make America Healthy Again-has raised $8 million since its launch, according to CEO Del Bigtree. Federal Election Commission filings, which only cover through Oct. 16, show other major donors include Florida scientologist Trish Duggan and tomato tycoon Chris Rufer.
Bigtree, who predicted Kennedy voters "will be the difference maker in this election," said Kennedy hadn't helped solicit the Musk donation. Representatives for Musk didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
Musk has already spent $75 million on his pro-Trump super PAC, which is aimed at helping register voters in swing states and persuading them to vote for the former president.
Kennedy dropped out of the presidential race in August and endorsed Trump, but his presidential campaign-separate from the MAHA super PAC-has continued to raise and spend millions. It isn't uncommon for campaigns to take some time to wind down their operations after a candidate drops out.
The Kennedy campaign has paid $482,000 to more than 60 entities for campaign consulting and $1.1 million on ballot access consulting in the six weeks after Kennedy dropped out, the most recent data available. Some of those payments were for severance.
Since the beginning of September, the Kennedy campaign has raised $2.4 million and has spent $3.3 million on operating expenditures. It has refunded less than $80,000 in contributions.
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October 24, 2024 20:47 ET (00:47 GMT)
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