Barring unforeseen circumstances, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will remain on the ballot as a presidential candidate in Minnesota despite withdrawing from the race last week and endorsing Republican nominee Donald Trump.
Kennedy is on the ballot in more than 20 states, also including Wisconsin. In announcing the end of his campaign last week, the independent candidate and former Democrat said he would remain on many state’s ballots but would try to help Trump in states that could send the Republican former president back to the White House.
“But in about 10 battleground states where my presence would be a spoiler I will remove my name and urge voters not to vote for me,” Kennedy said as he withdrew from the race on Friday.
Kennedy got on the ballot in Minnesota after filing for candidacy on June 7. A candidate must gather 2,000 signatures to appear on the ballot, and there isn’t an easy way to get off once their paperwork is in, according to the Minnesota Secretary of State’s office.
For Kennedy to get off the ballot in Minnesota, a court would have to review a petition from his campaign — or any other party opposed to his appearance on the ballot.
There are few circumstances under Minnesota law where a judge would support removing a candidate, according to Secretary of State spokesperson Cassondra Knudson. Those could include ineligibility because a candidate is not a natural-born U.S. citizen or over the age of 35 — which are Constitutional requirements for the office — or if the candidate died.
Minnesota’s laws would make it difficult or even impossible for Kennedy to get off the ballot, but he’s been trying in other states. So far, he hasn’t had success.
This week, election officials in the crucial swing states of Wisconsin and Michigan denied his requests to remove himself from the general election ballot. On Tuesday, Wisconsin’s Elections Commission voted to keep Kennedy on the ballot after he requested to withdraw, the Associated Press reported.
Effect on race in MN?
While Kennedy’s remaining on the ballot could hurt Trump’s efforts in Minnesota, the state is not as competitive or crucial to winning the presidency as Wisconsin and Michigan.
Republican strategists have long hoped for success in Minnesota after Trump came within 1.5 percentage points of defeating Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election, but they weren’t been able to reproduce that success in 2020, when Trump lost to President Joe Biden.
And now that Gov. Tim Walz is running with Kamala Harris on the Democratic ticket, it will make even less of a difference, said Steven Schier, professor emeritus of political science at Carleton College.
Recent polling shows a widening gap between Harris and Trump since Walz joined the ticket, and third-party candidates like Kennedy likely won’t make a huge difference in the final outcome in Minnesota, he said.
“If you look at how people are discussing swing states with the addition of Walz to the ticket, Minnesota is really off that list,” he said. “It doesn’t really matter for Trump in Minnesota anyway. It matters in Michigan.”
The most recently available polling for Minnesota shows Harris with 47% support compared to Trump’s 40%. That survey from Redfield & Wilton Strategies on behalf of the U.K.-based newspaper The Telegraph found Kennedy had around 3% support in Minnesota.
Minor parties on ballot
Kennedy and running mate Nicole Shanahan are with the We The People party on the Minnesota ballot. It’s a political party created by Kennedy supporters to help him get on the ballot in several states. They’re just one of seven minor parties appearing on the ballot. The others include:
Libertarian Party — Chase Oliver and Mike ter Maat
Green Party — Jill Stein and Samson Kpadenou
Socialism and Liberation — Claudia De la Cruz and Karina Garcia
Socialist Workers Party — Rachele Fruit and Dennis Richter
Justice For All — Cornel West and Melina Abdullah
Independent — Shiva Ayyadurai and Crystal Ellis
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