RFK Jr., Who Endorsed Trump, Not Allowed to Remove Name From Michigan Ballot
After Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s campaign dumped millions of dollars to secure ballot access as a third-party candidate — and following the independent candidate’s recent campaign suspension and endorsement of Donald Trump — he swiftly attempted to remove his name from the ballot in key swing states.
However, try as he might to avoid swaying the election against his new Republican ally, a Michigan judge ruled Tuesday that RFK Jr.’s name will remain on the state’s November presidential ballot, the Associated Press reports.
Kennedy filed the lawsuit last week against Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, arguing that he still had time to withdraw his name. A few months prior, in April, the Natural Law Party had nominated Kennedy for the Michigan’s presidential ballot.
In a post shared to X, Benson wrote that nominated candidates who accept a minor party’s nomination “shall not be permitted to withdraw.”
The sentiment was echoed in Michigan Court of Claims Judge Christopher P. Yates’ opinion and order agreeing with the secretary of state’s previous rejection of Kennedy’s request to withdraw. “Elections are not just games, and the Secretary of State (SOS) is not obligated to honor the whims of candidates for public office,” Yates wrote.
Kennedy argued in the lawsuit that his notice of withdrawal was timely and the electorate’s votes could be “diminished and rendered invalid” if he remains on the ballot. He filed a similar lawsuit in North Carolina on Friday, where he is trying to withdraw his name from the ballot.
On Friday, Kennedy announced that in “about 10 battleground states where my presence would be a spoiler, I’m going to remove my name.” He urged voters not to vote for him and to instead back Trump in those states. However, in the 40 other states, Kennedy encouraged his supporters to vote for him — and even suggested he could still win the whole thing.
So far, he’s managed to remove his name from the ballot in the key states of Pennsylvania, Arizona, Nevada, Florida, Ohio, and Texas.
Prior to Kennedy suspending his campaign, Trump in August said that he would “certainly” be open to the independent candidate playing a role in his administration if he dropped out of the race and endorsed him. Trump’s remarks arrived about a month after The Washington Post reported that Kennedy discussed the potential drop out-endorsement in exchange for a position in the former president’s administration should Trump win the election in November.
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