Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had ended his presidential campaign and endorsed Donald J. Trump last month. His presence on the ballot could be significant in the crucial battleground state.
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Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has tried to remove his name from state ballots in an effort to help the Trump campaign.
The Michigan Supreme Court on Monday dismissed an effort by Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to be taken off the ballot in the state, reversing an earlier appeals court decision that could have significant implications for the crucial battleground state.
In a short opinion written by the court’s majority, the ruling said that Mr. Kennedy, who ended his independent presidential campaign and endorsed former President Donald J. Trump last month, had not pointed to a “source of law” that gave him the right to withdraw from the ballot, adding that Mr. Kennedy was asking for an “extraordinary remedy.”
Both Republicans and Democrats had worried that Mr. Kennedy, a lifelong Democrat before becoming an independent last year, would draw more votes from their candidate. But since he dropped out of the race on Aug. 23 and threw his support behind Mr. Trump, he has tried to remove his name from state ballots in an effort to help the Trump campaign. Mr. Trump won Michigan by fewer than 11,000 votes in 2016, and he lost it in 2020 by roughly 154,000 votes.
It is not clear which candidate Mr. Kennedy would draw more votes from, with polls disagreeing on whether Mr. Kennedy’s supporters were more inclined to support Mr. Trump or Vice President Kamala Harris.
In an appeal to the state’s Supreme Court on Friday, Jocelyn Benson, the Democratic secretary of state in Michigan, had asked that the court make a decision by Monday afternoon, as the state has to certify which candidates will be on the ballot before printing them — and the deadline for certification was on Friday. Early voting in Michigan begins on Oct. 26.
“It must be emphasized that Kennedy is a candidate for president,” the filing said. “And so his presence or absence from the ballot affects every ballot in the state. No county can start preparing its ballots until this case and the appeals are completed.”
Mr. Kennedy requested that his name be removed from the ballot in Michigan on the day he left the race. Ms. Benson rejected that request, citing a statute that says that candidates nominated by a minor party “shall not be permitted to withdraw.” Christopher Yates, a judge for Michigan’s Court of Claims, had agreed with that decision before an appeals court reversed his decision.
Mr. Kennedy had been nominated by the Natural Law Party, a minor party in Michigan, which allowed him to avoid steep requirements for an independent candidate to get on the state’s ballot. At the time, Mr. Kennedy was pursuing an ambitious and expensive strategy to get on the ballot in all 50 states, and a minor party’s nomination granted him easier ballot access in many states.
Chris Cameron covers politics for The Times, focusing on breaking news and the 2024 campaign. More about Chris Cameron
See more on: Robert F. Kennedy Jr., 2024 Elections: News, Polls and Analysis, U.S. Politics
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Source: nytimes.com
