Michigan Dem SOS Says RFK Jr.’s Name Must Remain On Ballot

 Independent Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s name must remain on Michigan’s general election ballot despite his push to remove it from ballots in battleground states, according to Michigan Democratic Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson.

After endorsing Trump last week, Kennedy said he would remain on the ballot in “red” and “blue” states but remove himself from “10 battleground states” where he could potentially act as a “spoiler.” Axios reported on Tuesday that Michigan Secretary of State Benson’s office said in a statement, “Minor party candidates cannot withdraw, so his name will remain on the ballot in the November election.”

In April, Kennedy qualified for the Michigan general election ballot through the Natural Law Party, which had already filed the necessary paperwork to have its candidate on the ballot. Cheri Hardmon, senior press secretary for the Michigan Secretary of State, said, “The Natural Law Party held their convention to select electors for [RFK Jr.]. They cannot meet at this point to select new electors since it’s past the primary.”

Michigan has played a crucial role in the past two presidential elections, swinging from Donald Trump in 2016 to Joe Biden in 2020. Vice President Kamala Harris currently leads in the Michigan polls by two points, according to the RealClearPolitics average. Six recent polls cited by The Washington Post showed Harris performing better against Trump nationally if Kennedy remained on the ballot.

 

Before Kennedy had even made it on the Michigan ballot, the Democratic Party launched a billboard campaign in Grand Rapids, claiming Kennedy was “bankrolled by the same extreme MAGA donor as Donald Trump.” The Democrat-turned-independent candidate blasted the Democratic Party in his speech last week when he announced he was suspending his campaign and backing Trump.

“In the name of saving democracy, the Democratic Party set itself to dismantling it, lacking confidence in its candidate, that its candidate could win in a fair election at the voting booth, the DNC waged continual legal warfare against both President Trump and myself,” he said. “Each time that our volunteers turned in those towering boxes of signatures needed to get on the ballot, the DNC dragged us into court, state after state, attempting to erase their work and to subvert the will of the voters who had signed those petitions.”