Former independent presidential candidate RFK Jr. will still appear on the ballot of three key battleground states, Nevada, Michigan, and Wisconsin, despite dropping out of the White House run to endorse Republican candidate Donald Trump.
Kennedy did not withdraw his name from the ballots within the deadline as he was still the candidate at that time but later ended up supporting Trump.
According to the press secretary of the Michigan Secretary of State, Candidates from minor political parties cannot withdraw their names from the ballot as per the law, which will keep Kennedy on the ballot for the November elections.
In Michigan, this situation is particularly bothersome for the Natural Law Party, which made RFK Jr. their nominee for the November elections. This strategy helped the party gain national-level prominence as RFK Jr.’s popularity kept on rising. However, the party is now disappointed as Kennedy’s dropout has made them vulnerable to losing their chances of participating in the upcoming elections.
Kennedy will need to get at least 24,679 votes in Michigan, or the Natural Law Party will become ineligible to contest future elections. Although Kennedy’s name remains on the ballot, getting this many votes after the dropout will be nothing more than a miracle.
Meanwhile, Doug Dern, the chair of the Natural Law Party, acknowledged that Kennedy helped the party rise to prominence but also added that the very reason why the party made Kennedy his nominee was his resistance against the two-party system, and now he has gone back to support the same system. Dern further argued that this dropout makes it difficult for the Natural Law Party to maintain its future ballot access.
Kennedy faced a similar situation in Wisconsin, where he filed a request to get his name dropped from the ballot, but the Wisconsin Elections Commission (WEC) rejected his plea. In the 5-1 verdict, the WEC ruled that the candidate cannot withdraw their name after filing to appear on the ballot.
The state of Nevada is also likely to keep Kennedy’s name on the ballot as its laws allow the candidates to withdraw their candidacy within seven days of the filing deadline. He was allowed to withdraw his name by August 20, but he only ended his campaign on August 23, which will now keep him on the ballot.
RFK Jr. dropped out of the presidential race after striking a deal with the former president that would have given him a major portfolio in the possible Trump-Vance administration.
Trump has already included him and former Democrat Tulsi Gabbard on his transition team, which marks a rare moment of collaboration between politicians who have previously held extremely different opinions on key policy issues.
