Several Swing States Decline to Remove RFK Jr. from 2024 Ballot

Despite suspending his candidacy and endorsing former President Donald Trump in 10 battleground states, Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is facing difficulties in withdrawing from some states’ ballots.

The Details: Kennedy is facing issues in Michigan, where he was slated to run as the nominee for the Natural Law Party, but the state said “minor party candidates cannot withdraw.” In Wisconsin, the state’s Elections Commission voted 5-1 on Tuesday against removing Kennedy’s name, citing a law that reads "any person who files nomination papers and qualifies to appear on the ballot may not decline nomination."

For Context: Kennedy suspended his campaign in key states to avoid giving what he perceived would be an advantage to Vice President Kamala Harris in the election this fall. In return, Trump suggested that, if victorious, he would give Kennedy a role in his administration that would involve addressing several public health issues, most notably chronic illnesses.

How The Media Covered It: Some outlets, like Business Insider (Lean Left bias) and ZeroHedge (Lean Right bias) wrote that Colorado also denied Kennedy’s request to be removed from the ballot, though most outlets who covered the story only mentioned Wisconsin and Michigan. Axios (Lean Left bias) published a separate article in which it reported speaking to the Colorado Secretary of State's office, which claimed Kennedy hadn’t yet filed the necessary paperwork to withdraw.