RFK Jr. to remain on the ballot in 2 swing states despite attempts to get himself removed, Supreme Court rules
Leonard Ortiz/MediaNews Group/Orange County Register via Getty Images; Bill Pugliano/Getty Images
- RFK Jr. has fought to remove his name from presidential ballots since he ended his campaign in August.
- The Supreme Court on Tuesday denied his two last-ditch requests in Michigan and Wisconsin.
- RFK Jr., who has since endorsed Trump, will remain on the ballot.
It's official: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will remain on the ballot in Wisconsin and Michigan.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday denied two last-minute requests from Kennedy's lawyers filed this month in an effort to remove his name from the ballot in the crucial swing states.
The denial ultimately ends Kennedy Jr.'s efforts to get himself off the tickets and may be a blow to Donald Trump's campaign for reelection — which Kennedy endorsed after he dropped out of the race in August.
"Our polling consistently showed that by staying on the ballot in the battleground states, I would likely hand the election over to the Democrats, with whom I disagree on the most existential issues," Business Insider previously reported Kennedy said at a news conference prior to endorsing Trump.
The Supreme Court Justices did not issue any explanation for their ruling, as is typical for emergency decisions such as this. Justice Neil Gorsuch, in a short dissent in the Michigan case, said he would have sided with Kennedy.
In previous legal challenges, Kennedy succeeded in getting his name removed from the ballot in some swing states, including Arizona, Nevada, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania. His name was also removed from the tickets in Florida, Ohio, and Texas.
Representatives for Kennedy Jr. and the Supreme Court did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Business Insider.
Kennedy, a one-time Democrat, ran most of his campaign as an Independent before forging an alliance with Trump. While Trump once described the politician and environmental activist as a "liberal lunatic," the two reconciled their differences and Trump named Kennedy to his formal transition team.
During his Sunday rally at Madison Square Garden, Trump seemed to suggest Kennedy could have a spot in his administration, pledging to let the vaccine-skeptic "go wild on health."