Scott Brown’s BBQ series had ‘never had a crowd like this,’ until RFK Jr.

RYE — It wasn’t yet 6 p.m., the event’s start time, and Scott Brown could be heard warning arrivals, “You’re not going to be able to get in the building.”

Hundreds of people had sloshed through a waterlogged field for Wednesday’s installment of the “No BS Backyard BBQ” series hosted by the former Massachusetts Republican U.S. senator. The guest of honor wasn’t Donald Trump, Ron DeSantis, or Vivek Ramaswamy. Not Nikki Haley or Chris Christie.

The invitee was far more unusual: a Democrat.

Brown and his wife, Gail Huff Brown, a 2022 candidate for New Hampshire’s 1st Congressional District, started welcoming Republican presidential candidates for backyard-style barbecues in Rye during the 2016 campaign season, giving voters an up-close opportunity to hear their stump speeches, ask questions, and take selfies.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., President Joe Biden’s long-shot primary rival, was the first Democrat the Browns have hosted, and Wednesday’s attendance surprisingly broke records.

“I’ve never had a crowd like this, ever,” Scott Brown said.

Kennedy is both piquing Republican interest and garnering support from Democrats who want a Biden alternative. And when push comes to shove, Kennedy may be the only Democrat on the New Hampshire primary ballot, as Biden has decided to forgo campaigning in the Granite State since the Democratic National Committee took away its first-in-the-nation primary status.

New Hampshire is expected to ignore the Democratic Party’s new rules and continue with its primary, enshrined in state law, just as it has in years past.

Though running as a Democrat, Kennedy’s stances that have received the most attention are unlikely Democratic ideals. For years he’s espoused anti-vaccine views as founder and chairman of Children’s Health Defense, an anti-vaccine advocacy group. More recently, he was a leading proponent of conspiracy theories around vaccines and public health measures related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The New York Times recently reported that Kennedy has toned down his fringe views in the public sphere, and now leaves them for podcasts, shows, and events popular with right-wing audiences. On Wednesday, inside a crammed barn with overflow areas outside, he took on big corporations, housing costs, the country’s “forever wars,” and the humanitarian crisis at the southern border. He didn’t share his more extreme views on vaccines or COVID-19, even though that’s precisely what some people were there for.

“I’ve been following him because of his stance on vaccines,” said Britany DeBernardo, a nurse who drove from Franklin with her husband to see Kennedy speak. “That’s a lot of what drew me to him. Particularly with the COVID mandates.”

DeBernardo, who has voted for both Republicans and Democrats in the past, didn’t get the COVID vaccine because of a religious exemption. She admires Kennedy “standing up against the mainstream no matter how much flack he gets.”

DeBernardo was also curious to hear him speak more on digital currency and digital ID. Last year, Kennedy provided Bitcoin support to protesting truckers in Canada whose bank accounts were frozen by the government via intelligence gathering.

“He really is a proponent of free speech and not being censored,” she said.

A politically split husband and wife from Rochester, Adam and Sara Wade have been watching Kennedy since before he announced his presidential candidacy. They read his 2021 book, titled “The Real Anthony Fauci: Bill Gates, Big Pharma, and the Global War on Democracy and Public Health,” and found it “compelling,” said Adam Wade, who works in recruiting.

“Pro-choice vaccines and the potential criminal activity and hypocrisy with Fauci” were the themes that resonated with them, he said. Fauci, who served as the top adviser on COVID-19 for two presidents during the pandemic, has never been the subject of a criminal investigation, though Republican Sen. Rand Paul just recently referred him to the U.S. Justice Department for allegedly lying under oath to Congress.

The Wades have six children, four in grade school and two who are college-aged. Sara Wade, who works in finance for a nonprofit, said she’d always quietly questioned vaccines. Kennedy’s views, she said, “made me listen and do a double take.”

“As a parent, you have the best interest of your children always at heart,” she said.

Sara Wade called herself a “typical Republican,” while her husband is more “typical Democrat.” They both agreed they would choose Kennedy over Biden.

An environmental lawyer and activist, Kennedy is the son of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy and nephew of President John F. Kennedy. He had “no hesitation,” he said, when he received a speaking invitation from Brown, who filled the Massachusetts Senate seat of Kennedy’s uncle, Ted Kennedy, in 2010. Brown also ran for U.S. Senate in New Hampshire in 2014 but was defeated by Democrat Jeanne Shaheen.

During his hour-long speech, Kennedy targeted the “deterioration and disintegration” of the country’s economy, public health, and mental health. Today’s politicians, he told voters, are lying, and “we need to start telling each other the truth.”

A Portsmouth resident who works in tech, Craig Sieve has been attending campaign events for candidates from all parties for 20 years, so he can “meet the future president.” He typically votes Republican or independent.

Asked if there was anything in particular about Kennedy that interested him, Sieve said, “Not specifically, but we try to meet them all.”

This story was originally published by New Hampshire Bulletin

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Scott Brown’s BBQ ‘never had a crowd like this,’ until RFK Jr.