Three Swing States Block RFK Jr. From Exiting Ballot

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Aug 29, 2024

Above: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. appears on FOX News Sunday at FOX News D.C. Bureau on August 25, 2024 in Washington, DC. Image copyright: Shannon Finney/Contributor/Getty Images Entertainment via Getty Imagesstory last updated Sep 19

The Facts

State officials in Michigan, Wisconsin, and North Carolina have rejected Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy (RFK) Jr.'s attempt to remove himself from their respective state ballots.
Last week he endorsed GOP candidate Donald Trump and announced that he would suspend his campaign and remove himself from the ballot in contentious battleground states to avoid "harming or helping" either side.

The Spin

Democratic narrative

If Kennedy and Trump were hoping to scheme their way to victory in November, these rulings have surely dampened their mood. This means that the advantage given to Harris with RFK Jr. on the ballot — which is exactly what he was trying to avoid — is still in play, and any chance of Trump winning and giving Kennedy a spot in his administration is gone too. Without a ballot change, all Trump has now is the endorsement of an anti-vax conspiracy theorist.

The New Republic

Republican narrative

Democratic states have again used their power to meddle in RFK Jr.'s campaign. First, some states refused to put him on the ballot because they feared he would take votes from Harris; but now that swing states are involved, they see his presence on the ballot as useful. What they don't seem to grasp, however, is that Kennedy's supporters believe his anti-corporation and anti-war agenda, and Trump is the next best candidate with respect to those issues.