North Carolina and Michigan judges have ordered that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. be removed from the ballots in the two battleground states.
Both the North Carolina and Michigan courts of appeals on Friday reversed prior denials of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s request that his name be removed from the general election ballots in the two highly contested swing states.
The moves in both states are legal wins for the former independent candidate, who recently dropped out to endorse President Donald Trump. The endorsement marked a significant shift for Kennedy, who has a lifelong legacy as a Democrat and a member of one of America’s most powerful political dynasties.
Since endorsing Trump, Kennedy has been trying to thread the needle, seeking to remove his name from ballots in some states in order to benefit Trump while remaining on ballots in others. But so far, Democrats have had success keeping him on the ballots where he has requested to be removed, while removing him from the ballots on which he wishes to remain. All of this follows other hard-fought legal fights Kennedy had with Democrats in his effort to obtain ballot access in the first place.
In July Democrats in North Carolina sued to keep Kennedy off the ballot out of fears he might sap more votes from Vice President Kamala Harris. But it now appears that his remaining on the ballot could take more votes from Trump — which has prompted both Democrat-led efforts to keep Kennedy on the ballot and Kennedy’s legal actions to get his name removed.
Kennedy requested last week that his name be removed from the ballots, but the request was denied by the Democrat-run North Carolina State Board of Elections, prompting Kennedy to turn to the courts.
