Robert F. Kennedy Jr. can’t get his name removed from the ballots in Wisconsin and Michigan, two crucial states that Donald Trump and Kamala Harris hope will give them a decisive victory in November.
Kennedy suspended his independent presidential bid last week and promptly endorsed Trump. Polls had shown Kennedy more likely to receive support from Republicans than Democrats, and the suspension of his presidential campaign was seen as more favorable to Trump than to Harris.
In remarks to supporters on Friday, Kennedy said he would not formally end his campaign and that he plans to remain on the ballot in states where he poses little to no threat of splitting the vote with the GOP candidate. But in Michigan and Wisconsin, where the polls are close, Kennedy is now barred from withdrawing his ballots.
In Michigan, where Kennedy was nominated as the candidate of the Natural Law Party, a spokesperson for the secretary of state’s office told NBC News that candidates from minor parties cannot withdraw their nominations. The Wisconsin Election Commission also denied Kennedy’s request Tuesday to remove his name from the ballot; Ann Jacobs, who chairs the commission, said state law does not allow a qualified candidate who has filed nomination papers to withdraw his nomination, NBC News reported.
Still, Kennedy’s insistence on staying on the ballot in non-swing states may reflect a need to prove that his candidacy, however unresponsive, is attractive. Days after Kennedy suspended his campaign, Kentucky’s secretary of state said he had filed Monday to run for president in the state and will appear on the ballot in November.
This article was originally published on MSNBC.com
