Judge Rules RFK Jr. Will Remain on Presidential Ballot in Michigan

Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. must remain on the November ballot in the battleground state of Michigan, despite suspending his campaign and endorsing former President Donald Trump, a state judge ruled on Sept. 3.
Kennedy qualified for Michigan’s Nov. 5 general election ballot in April after accepting a nomination from the Natural Law Party.
At the time, Kennedy said a vote for him in around 10 battleground states would be a spoiler that could potentially draw votes away from Trump so he would seek to have his name removed while urging voters not to vote for him in those key states. Kennedy added that he will remain on the ballot in most of the states for which he has qualified as he is unlikely to make a difference between Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris.
“Elections are not just games, and the Secretary of State (SOS) is not obligated to honor the whims of candidates for public office,” Yates wrote.
Shortly after his August announcement, Kennedy sought to have his name removed from the ballots in several states, including Arizona, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, where the race could be close. Trump narrowly won Michigan and Wisconsin in 2016 but lost both states to President Joe Biden in 2020.
While officials in states such as Florida, and Ohio approved Kennedy’s request, others turned it down.
In his opinion, Yates said Kennedy signed a withdrawal notice and submitted it to Benson’s office on Aug. 23 to remove his name from the November ballot.
A staff member responded on Aug. 26 that the filing could not be accepted. An email debate between the campaign and Benson’s office ensued and Kennedy filed a lawsuit on Aug. 30, Yates said in his opinion.
“Permitting a candidate to unilaterally withdraw after the August primary election date leaves the party without a candidate on the general-election ballot, so the plaintiff’s request to withdraw at this late date is just a self-serving act that would cause harm to the party that nominated him by leaving the party with no candidate at the top of the ticket,” the judge wrote.
He has since filed a lawsuit in Wake County Superior Court challenging that decision. The Epoch Times has reached out to Kennedy’s lawyers for comment.