NEW: Democrats Force RFK Jr. To Stay On Ballot In Multiple Swing States

Despite his recent exit from the presidential race and his public endorsement of Donald Trump, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s attempt to have his name removed from the Wisconsin ballot has been thwarted.

After meeting this Tuesday, the Wisconsin Elections Commission has decided that Kennedy’s name will remain on the November ballot for the presidential election. Kennedy, who announced Friday that he was suspending his campaign, had requested his name be withdrawn from key swing state ballots to not detrimentally affect former President Trump’s chances in the 2024 election. However, the Commission rejected his request with a decisive 5-1 vote, with only Robert Spindell casting a vote to remove Kennedy’s name.

Independent candidates like Kennedy Jr. faced a different set of challenges compared to nominees of the major political parties, as they have to petition for access to each state’s and the District of Columbia’s presidential ballot individually.

Kennedy will also remain on the ballot in Michigan, another critical battleground state. According to Michigan’s secretary of state, it is too late for any alterations to the ballot at this stage. However, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, who recently denied Kennedy Jr.’s request to have his name removed from the Michigan ballot, has also herself attempted to remove far-left third party candidate Cornel West from the ballot. The move resulted in a legal battle which she lost and is now in the process of appealing.

You can’t make this up.

Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson denied RFK’s request to remove his name from the ballot.

But she just attempted to remove Cornel West from the ballot, losing a court case that she is now appealing. pic.twitter.com/EDiPYoylkt

— Greg Price (@greg_price11) August 27, 2024

The decision sees that voters in these influential states will still see Kennedy’s name as an option, despite his official withdrawal from the race. “Minor party candidates cannot withdraw, so his name will remain on the ballot in the November election,” said Cheri Hardmon, senior press secretary for Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, in a comment to Axios.

However, earlier on Tuesday Kennedy Jr. was withdrawn from the South Carolina ballot, as confirmed by the state’s Election Commission.

Back in early 2023, Kennedy Jr. first hinted at his possible presidential run after receiving his wife’s approval. By April, he had filed for the Democratic presidential nomination and officially launched his campaign later that month in Boston. Transitioning to an independent by October, Kennedy was a notable figure from his prominent family to pursue the presidency.

His campaign journey garnered considerable support from some Republican donors and allies of Trump, who viewed him as a potential “spoiler” in the election. Among his donors, Timothy Mellon notably contributed $5 million to Kennedy’s campaign and significantly more to Trump’s efforts. As the campaign faced hurdles like falling poll numbers and financial strains, Kennedy sought potential cabinet positions from the Harris and Trump campaigns, ultimately endorsing Trump after a refusal from Harris. Despite his previous criticisms of Trump, Kennedy fully endorsed him on Friday during a rally in Arizona.

WATCH:

“As you know, I left that party in October because it had departed so dramatically from the core values that I grew up with. It had become the party of war, censorship, corruption, big pharma, big tech, big [agriculture], and big money,” the former Democrat said on Friday at Trump’s rally. “It abandoned democracy by cancelling the primary to cancel the cognitive decline of the sitting president.”

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