Robert F. Kennedy Jr. may have dropped his third-party presidential bid, but his name will remain on the ballot in some battleground states in November.
The independent announced last month he was “suspending” his campaign and endorsing former President Trump after a failed bid to compete in 50 states. He said at the time he would withdraw from state ballots most likely to decide the election but would stay on in the deep-red and deep-blue places unlikely to sway the outcome.
But Kennedy has faced persistent legal challenges while trying to remove himself and could inadvertently hurt the GOP candidate he’s vowed to support.
Here’s where Kennedy stands in seven swing states:
Arizona
Kennedy’s time on the Arizona ballot was among the shortest he spent as an official candidate in any state. He filed to get off the ballot one day after he qualified for it.
His decision to withdraw there came just before he publicly backed Trump and was seen as an indicator his campaign was coming to an end.
Kennedy’s team needed to move quickly because the Arizona secretary of state was set to print the ballots soon after. But he was able to be removed without difficulty.
Kennedy departing the ballot may end up being critical in the Grand Canyon State with polls currently the race is neck and neck. Trump and Vice President Harris are tied in the average from Decision Desk HQ/The Hill at 48 percent. They also were nearly even before Kennedy suspended his campaign.
Georgia
Kennedy seemed poised to get on the ballot in the Peach State a few months ago.
But the issue of Kennedy’s residence became an obstacle for him in August after a New York judge blocked him from appearing on the ballot for falsely claiming to reside in the state on his nominating petition. Kennedy argued that he only temporarily moved to California but always considered New York his home.
The same issue later emerged in Georgia, after Kennedy ended his candidacy, when a judge there blocked him on the same grounds. Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger had the final say on the issue, and his office has confirmed Kennedy will not appear on the ballot.
Trump currently has a razor-thin 0.3-point lead over Harris in the DDHQ/The Hill average. It had been at 1 point when Kennedy left the race.
Michigan
Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson rejected Kennedy’s request to remove his name from the ballot, pointing to a law that prevents candidates from minor parties from withdrawing after qualifying.
Kennedy received the nomination of the Natural Law Party in the state.
After Kennedy sued, the state Supreme Court sided with Benson, keeping Kennedy’s name on the ballot.
Harris has a 1-point lead over Trump, 45 percent to 44 percent, with Kennedy included.
Nevada
Kennedy missed the deadline to drop his name from the Nevada ballot, but he ultimately received help in a lawsuit from the state Democratic Party seeking to block him.
The two sides agreed in a settlement that the lawsuit would be dropped and Kennedy’s name would be removed. This came after an extensive legal battle over the validity of his signatures after he initially gathered them without naming a running mate, as required by state law.
Harris leads Trump by just more than 1 point in the DDHQ/The Hill average.
North Carolina
Kennedy’s long and complicated effort to remove himself from the North Carolina ballot has had a direct impact on 2024’s newest battleground.
A recent ruling finding Kennedy didn’t need to remain on the ballot in the Tar Heel state has delayed the start of early voting there.
The State Board of Elections noted a delay in disseminating ballots for early and absentee voting because the courts were waiting to decide on whether Kennedy would show up on the materials to be mailed out.
Polls show an unexpected tie between Trump and Harris, according to the latest average of 24 state polls taken throughout the cycle and aggregated by DDHQ/The Hill, with each candidate earning 48 percent of support.
Pennsylvania
Kennedy no longer will be a wild card on the ballot in one swing state this cycle. Pennsylvania’s top election official approved Harris and Trump’s names for ballot submissions and did not include Kennedy.
Polls show a tight contest between the Republican and Democratic nominees, and election forecasters predict it will be one of the most consequential in deciding the outcome. Kennedy’s omission from the ballot takes away what both parties saw as a potential threat in the tied race, which finds Harris and Trump both at 48 percent.
Wisconsin
On Monday, a circuit judge in Dane County ruled against Kennedy’s plea to have himself taken off the ballot, citing a provision that lists death as the only reason to be removed.
That decision could pose a potential danger for Trump because polls have shown Kennedy mainly taking away his support.
A DDHQ/The Hill aggregate of polls of a three-way race between the candidates show Harris leading Trump 47 percent to 41 percent. Kennedy holds 5 percent.
Without Kennedy on the ballot, Harris leads Trump 50 percent to 47 percent.
Wisconsin awards 10 electoral votes to the winner and is seen as one of the central states in Democrats’ “blue wall.”
