RFK Jr. surprise guest at event attended by top New Jersey GOP lawmakers, Democratic Assembly candidate

Top New Jersey GOP lawmakers and one soon-to-be Democratic assemblymember recently attended a gala hosted by a group opposed to vaccine requirements which featured Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as a speaker, according to social media photos of the event.

The event — which was held late last month — had the longshot presidential candidate as a surprise guest and his appearance was not known to attendees in advance. But the event itself underscores how the group hosting it, the New Jersey Public Health Innovation PAC, has captured an audience of mainstream elected officials while simultaneously embracing conspiracy theorists like Kennedy Jr.

The Public Health Innovation PAC has become the most prominent organized group in New Jersey opposing vaccine requirements and mostly supports Republicans, although it has begun making inroads with a handful of New Jersey Democrats. The group grew to prominence after some of its members helped derail legislation a few years ago that would have scrapped religious exemptions for vaccination requirements for public school children.

New Jersey does not have a Covid-19 vaccine requirement for public schoolchildren.

At the time of the event, Kennedy Jr. was a Democratic candidate for president but he has since declared a run as an independent. He has gained a reputation as a promoter of false anti-vaccine claims, repeated the debunked claim that vaccines cause autism and recently falsely said that Covid-19 was engineered to spare Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese people.

While his attendance was a surprise, the Public Health Innovation PAC has publicly supported Kennedy Jr. in the past — referring to him as an “iconic symbol of health freedom” in social media posts.

At least eight GOP state lawmakers — including Senate Minority Leader Anthony Bucco, Sens. Doug Steinhardt (R-Warren), Declan O’Scanlon (R-Monmouth), Joe Pennacchio (R-Morris) and Assemblymembers Marilyn Piperno (R-Monmouth), Brian Bergen (R-Morris), Vicky Flynn (R-Monmouth) and Gerry Scharfenberger (R-Monmouth) — attended the gala, according to photos from the event posted to Facebook.

Republicans in other districts — including state Senate candidates Mike Pappas and Christopher Del Borrello, as well as Assembly candidates Amanda Esposito, John Azzariti and Dawn Fantasia — were also in attendance, photos show.

Views on Kennedy Jr. were split among officials who attended the gala and spoke with POLITICO.

“I’m not a fan at all [of RFK Jr.],” said O’Scanlon. “I left before he spoke. But I probably would not have stayed if I was there when he came out. I have issues with his style of advocacy and some of his stances.”

Julio Marenco, a Democrat running for the state Assembly with the backing of the Hudson County Democratic Organization, was also in attendance. Marenco does not have a Republican challenger in the heavily Democratic 33rd legislative district.

In a statement to POLITICO, Marenco said vaccines “help control the spread of disease and save lives” and noted that he encouraged people in his hometown of North Bergen to get the Covid-19 vaccine. In a subsequent statement, a Marenco spokesperson clarified his views on Kennedy Jr. and suggested Marenco would not support expanding required immunizations for schoolchildren.

“Julio does not agree with RFK Jr.’s advocacy or with his views on vaccines,” the spokesperson, Nick Bond, said. “He supports the current laws that are in place regarding school vaccination requirements. As Julio stated he strives to respectfully listen to all points of view and he will always make decisions that he believes are in the best interests of his constituents.”

A copy of Kennedy Jr.’s remarks were not available, but according to Scharfenberger, Kennedy Jr. spoke “entirely” on vaccines, vaccine mandates and his opinion of how Covid-19 was handled.

“Clearly it was geared towards the room,” Scharfenberger told POLITICO. “He’s very knowledgeable on this particular topic. I have zero idea where he stands on other dozens of hundreds of issues. It was very interesting to hear him speak. He’s done his homework on this particular issue.”

Bergen said he “wasn’t concerned” about Kennedy Jr. speaking at the event.

“He’s really big into medical freedom-related topics, particularly around vaccines,” Bergen said. “I wouldn’t say our views are aligned on most things or even that much. But on that one particular issue we’re more closely aligned than not.”

The only advertised guest speaker for the event was Peter McCullough — a cardiologist accused of promoting false or misleading statements on Covid-19 vaccines and who has mischaracterized federal data to argue that Covid-19 vaccines kill people. McCullough delivered the keynote speech, according to social media posts and a Substack post from McCullough.

The Public Health Innovation PAC said in a statement to POLITICO that its guest speakers were chosen for their “impeccable professional credentials” and called Kennedy Jr. a “children’s health advocate.”

“We also chose [speakers at the event] because of their principled commitment to share their knowledge and perspective despite intense pressure to remain silent,” the group said in a statement. “The unproven claims made against them did not dissuade us at all because our supporters are intelligent, discerning individuals who are extremely capable of evaluating information and weighing its value. Those in attendance were greatly appreciative of the opportunity to listen and decide for themselves. This is how trust is earned.”

Kennedy Jr.’s presidential campaign did not respond to a request for comment.

While the group has its largest support from GOP officials, who have been united in their opposition to vaccine requirements, they have made inroads with Democrats. The group endorsed Marenco as well as state Sen. Renee Burgess (D-Essex), a member of the Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee, for the 2023 election. (In 2021 the group recommended — but did not endorse — the late Sen. Ron Rice (D-Essex) and incumbent Sen. Joe Lagana (D-Bergen), both of whom opposed legislation repealing the religious exemption for childhood immunizations).

Burgess said in a brief phone interview that vaccine requirements should be “up to the individual.”

“It’s up to parents if they have children for what they want to do to their own bodies,” she said. “They should have freedom of choice.”

The presence of elected officials underscores how any legislation encouraging vaccines — especially eliminating religious exemptions for childhood immunizations — may face an uphill climb should state lawmakers revisit it.

State Sen. Vin Gopal (D-Monmouth) was listed on a seating chart for the event, although he said in an interview he did not attend or donate, and did not know about Kennedy Jr.’s attendance or much about the group itself (Gopal was the only elected Democratic state lawmaker listed on the seating chart for the event).

“They reached out to me to meet with constituents in the district about a month ago,” Gopal said in a phone interview, adding he opposes mandating Covid-19 shots and supported ending masks in schools. “We met with them and they invited me to the gala. I was unable to make it.”

Asked whether he would support repealing the religious exemption for childhood immunizations, Gopal added: “Senate never voted on it [but] if there was a vote I would have opposed it.”