Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s name is expected to remain on the November ballot in at least three critical battleground states, despite his recent decision to suspend his independent presidential campaign and endorse former President Donald Trump, told NBC News.
Kennedy, who ended his campaign last Friday, announced his intention to “remove” his name from ballots in approximately 10 battleground states where his presence could potentially act as a “spoiler” by siphoning votes from Trump. However, his efforts to withdraw from certain states were complicated by timing and legal restrictions. In some cases, ballots had already been approved, deadlines to withdraw had passed, or the option to withdraw wasn’t available at all.
Kennedy’s name will still appear on the ballots in Wisconsin and Michigan, as confirmed by the Wisconsin Elections Commission and the Michigan Secretary of State’s office. Similarly, in North Carolina, another pivotal swing state, absentee ballots with Kennedy’s name have already been printed and are set to be mailed to voters beginning September 6. A spokesman for the North Carolina State Board of Elections told CBS News that the We The People Party, which officially nominated Kennedy, has not indicated any plans to change its nomination.
These three states—Wisconsin, Michigan, and North Carolina—are among the most contested battlegrounds where Trump and Democratic nominee Kamala Harris are polling within the margin of error of each other. The Wisconsin Elections Commission voted on Tuesday to finalize its ballot for the November election, including Kennedy alongside other third-party candidates like Cornel West and Green Party candidate Jill Stein. Kennedy’s request to withdraw his name from the Wisconsin ballot was denied due to state law, which stipulates that anyone who files nomination papers and qualifies for the ballot cannot withdraw unless they have passed away.
Kennedy’s name is also set to appear on the ballot in Minnesota, a traditionally Democratic state where the Trump campaign has made significant efforts to gain ground.
On the other hand, Kennedy’s name will not appear on ballots in four other key battleground states: Pennsylvania, Georgia, Nevada, and Arizona. In these states, he was either able to withdraw before the deadline, or his candidacy had not yet been approved. In Georgia, a judge ruled that Kennedy did not qualify for the ballot due to questions about his residency, a decision mirrored in New York, where another judge blocked his ballot inclusion for providing a false address.
Kennedy’s name will also be absent from ballots in Ohio, Texas, and Florida, where he successfully withdrew his candidacy. When Kennedy suspended his campaign, he indicated a desire to remain on ballots in states where the race is not expected to be closely contested between Trump and Harris, allowing his supporters in those areas to still cast a vote for him.