On August 29, 2024, independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced his withdrawal from the race in Phoenix and expressed his support for Trump, a move welcomed by the Republican camp. Despite his withdrawal announcement, the key swing states of Michigan and Wisconsin have decided not to remove his name from the ballot.
Kennedy stated that he intends to remove his name from the ballots in some swing states that could potentially sway the election results, while keeping his name on ballots in states firmly supporting either the Democratic or Republican Party.
However, both key swing states rejected Kennedy’s request on Tuesday, August 27.
Cheri Hardmon, the senior press secretary for the Michigan Secretary of State, told Axios that due to the end of the primaries, the Natural Law Party had already held their national convention selecting Kennedy as their candidate and cannot convene another meeting to choose a new candidate. Therefore, Michigan believes that “the minor party candidate cannot withdraw from the race, and his name will continue to appear on the November ballot.”
Wisconsin similarly stated that it is too late to retract Kennedy’s name.
The Wisconsin Elections Commission ultimately decided in a 5-1 vote to keep Kennedy’s name on the ballot.
According to the Associated Press, Ann Jacobs, the chair of the Wisconsin Elections Commission and a Democrat, explained that under state law, anyone who has filed nomination papers and meets the ballot requirements cannot reject the nomination. Unless the person dies, their name should appear on the ballot.
Based on the average polling results in Wisconsin, in a three-way race, Harrin Lee leads Trump by 4.3 percentage points at 47.2% to 42.9%. Kennedy receives 4.3% support.
If Kennedy were to withdraw, Lee’s lead over Trump would narrow to 3 percentage points, with Lee at 49.3% and Trump at 46.3%.