Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the son of the late Sen. Robert F. Kennedy and nephew of President John F. Kennedy, has registered a presidential campaign with the Federal Election Commission — and is publicly testing the waters to see how much support he would have for such a run.
Kennedy, who filed his paperwork with the Federal Election Commission on Wednesday afternoon, is calling his committee Team Kennedy.
Florida-based attorney John E. Sullivan, who is serving as the campaign's treasurer, confirmed to Raw Story by phone that Kennedy is running for president and that the FEC filing is valid. Sullivan added that the Kennedy campaign's plans for a formal launch remain in the works but that the new presidential committee is targeting April 19 in Boston.
"We are releasing a statement tomorrow," added an unnamed Kennedy campaign official who responded to an email inquiry from Raw Story.
Kennedy's filing indicates that he would run as a Democrat.
Kennedy has teased running for president for several weeks. In a tweet on March 10, he asked followers for their help in deciding whether to run for president.
"If it looks like I can raise the money and mobilize enough people to win, I’ll jump in the race," Kennedy wrote. "If I run, my top priority will be to end the corrupt merger between state and corporate power that has ruined our economy, shattered the middle class, polluted our landscapes and waters, poisoned our children, and robbed us of our values and freedoms. Together we can restore America's democracy."
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Kennedy also telegraphed his presidential ambitions last month in a speech delivered at the New Hampshire Institute of Politics at St. Anselm College in Manchester, N.H.
“I’m thinking about it, and I’ve passed the biggest hurdle, which is my wife has green lighted it,” Kennedy said, according to New Hampshire Public Radio.
One of the nation's most prominent skeptics of vaccines, Kennedy has generated ongoing controversy by pushing baseless conspiracy theories linking vaccines to the onset of autism spectrum disorders in childhood.
In 2021, he published a book, "The Real Anthony Fauci: Bill Gates, Big Pharma, and the Global War on Democracy and Public Health." The book's promotional material says the tome details "how Fauci, Gates, and their cohorts use their control of media outlets — both conservative and liberal leaning, scientific journals, key government and quasi-governmental agencies, global intelligence agencies, and influential scientists and physicians to flood the public with fearful propaganda about COVID-19 virulence and pathogenesis, and to muzzle debate and ruthlessly censor dissent."
Last year, he was publicly rebuked by the Auschwitz Museum after claiming in a speech that Anne Frank didn't have it as bad as unvaccinated people do in the United States today.
Kennedy joins Marianne Williamson as Democrats challenging President Joe Biden for the 2024 Democratic presidential nomination. Biden has not officially announced he is seeking a second term but has indicated for months that he plans to make such an announcement.
On the Republican side, former President Donald Trump is again seeking the GOP nomination along with former UN Ambassador Nikki Haley and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson. Several other prospective Republican candidates are also expected to enter the race, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
Screen capture of verified FAA email