A Michigan judge ruled on Tuesday that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. must remain on the ballot in the battleground state after he filed a lawsuit asking the court to remove him, inhibiting his plan to withdraw from key states to ease former President Donald Trump’s path to victory after endorsing him last month.
Michigan Court of Claims Judge Christopher Yates dismissed Kennedy’s request to be removed after he qualified for the ballot through a minor party earlier this year. Kennedy had initially requested the Michigan Secretary of State’s office remove him from the ballot, but that request was denied.
“Elections are not just games, and the Secretary of State is not obligated to honor the whims of candidates for public office,” Yates wrote in the ruling.
The ruling undermines Kennedy’s strategy to withdraw his name from ballots in competitive states to boost Trump’s chances of winning in those states. Kennedy is also continuing to push for ballot access in states where his name won’t likely have an impact on the outcome of November’s election.
Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson said in a social media post that candidates who accept the nomination of a minor party in Michigan “shall not be permitted to withdraw.” Her statement came in response to a post from Trump ally Rudy Giuliani, who labeled the decision to keep Kennedy on the ballot in Michigan “election interference.”
