Michigan Officials Throw a Wrench in RFK Jr.’s Battleground Ballot Plan to Boost Trump
The Michigan Secretary of State announced that it is too late for former presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to withdraw his name from the November general election ballot. Kennedy, who recently suspended his campaign and endorsed Republican Donald Trump, had intended to remove himself from the ballots in several battleground states. However, according to Cheri Hardmon, press secretary for Democrat Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, minor party candidates cannot withdraw their names once the deadline has passed, and Kennedy’s name will remain on the ballot as the Natural Law Party’s nominee.
Despite Kennedy’s efforts to remove himself from ballots in states like Arizona, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, he is still listed for Michigan and may also remain on ballots in Wisconsin and Nevada. Polling suggests that his endorsement of Trump could slightly benefit the Republican candidate, as Kennedy’s supporters seem to lean more towards Trump than the Democratic nominee, Kamala Harris. Nationally, Harris leads Trump by a narrow margin, but the dynamics could shift in competitive states due to Kennedy’s influence on the electorate.
The Michigan Secretary of State’s office announced Tuesday that it is too late for former independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to remove his name from November’s general election ballot.
On Friday, when RFK Jr. announced he was suspending his campaign and endorsing Republican Donald Trump for president, he said he would be removing his name on the ballot in 10 battleground states.
However in Michigan, one of those states, it’s too late for Kennedy to get off the ballot, the secretary of state’s office said.
“Minor party candidates cannot withdraw, so his name will remain on the ballot in the November election,” Cheri Hardmon, press secretary for Democrat Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, said in a statement to Axios.
Kennedy is appearing on the ballot in Michigan as the Natural Law Party’s candidate, becoming their nominee earlier this year.
“The Natural Law Party held their convention to select electors for [RFK Jr.]. They cannot meet at this point to select new electors since it’s past the primary,” Hardmon explained.
Two months after the DNC sued to keep RFK Jr. off the ballot, Michigan’s Democratic Secretary of State won’t let him leave. https://t.co/7iRLZTv0Lf
— Derek P. Gilbert (@derekgilbert) August 27, 2024
The Real Clear Polling average shows Harris with a 2 percentage point lead nationally over Trump (46.4 to 44.4 percent), with RFK Jr. pulling 5 percent of the vote.
The race is even tighter in most battleground states.
Kennedy’s nationwide support dropped by about 3 points after President Joe Biden left the race and Vice President Kamala Harris took over the top of the Democratic ticket last month.
Of RFK’s remaining supporters, Newsweek reported, despite his liberal views on some issues like the environment and abortion, he was drawing more votes from Trump than Harris based on recent surveys conducted by New York Times/Siena College and Emerson College.
In the Times survey, 41 percent of RFK supporters said they would back Trump, and 27 percent said they would vote for Harris in a two-way race.
Emerson College reportedly found the breakdown was 64 percent for Trump and 36 percent for Harris in a two-way contest.
Meaning, Trump will likely get a net 1 or 2 percent bump with RFK Jr.’s endorsement, which could be race determinative in some battleground states.
NRP reported that Kennedy has successfully withdrawn his name from Arizona, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, so far.
Further, Kennedy’s name will likely not be on Georgia’s ballot after a Monday judicial ruling.
However, he will remain on Nevada’s and Wisconsin’s ballots, and possibly on North Carolina’s.
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