(NewsNation) — After his departure from the 2024 presidential race, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been trying to get his name off the ballot in states where his candidacy might help Democratic candidate Vice President Kamala Harris.
Kennedy dropped his independent bid for the White House more than two weeks ago, endorsing Republican nominee Donald Trump immediately after. He cited free speech, the war in Ukraine and a “war on our children” as some of the reasons he’s hellbent on removing himself from battleground state ballots.
“These are the principal causes that persuaded me to leave the Democratic Party and run as an independent and now to throw my support to President Trump,” Kennedy said at his event in Phoenix.
Polls had shown Kennedy draining support from Trump before he suspended his bid, raising the likelihood that his presence in certain states could impact the results even where he’s no longer running.
“If a candidate is on the ballot, someone will vote for them regardless,” Christopher Thrasher, a ballot access consultant who analyzes third-party campaigns, told The Associated Press. “The primaries showed as much this year on both sides. How many votes is anyone’s guess at this point.”
However, unlike Harris and Trump, Kennedy forfeited ballot access he had to earn through collecting signatures and minor party support, depending on the state.
He’s successfully taken himself out of the running in North Carolina, Arizona, Georgia and more but has likewise nabbed losses in Michigan, New York and Wisconsin. There are plenty more ongoing ballot access battles to keep track of, so here’s where he stands.
He’s currently on the ballot in nearly half the country:
- Alaska
- California
- Colorado
- Delaware
- Hawaii
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kentucky
- Louisiana
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Nebraska
- New Mexico
- Oklahoma
- Oregon
- Tennessee
- Utah
- Vermont
- Washington
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
He’s not on the ballot in 15 other states:
- Arizona
- Florida
- Georgia
- Maine
- Massachusetts
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New York
- North Carolina
- Ohio
- Pennsylvania
- South Carolina
- Texas
- Virginia
- Wyoming
His ballot status is still unconfirmed in these 13 states and Washington, D.C.:
- Alabama
- Arkansas
- Connecticut
- Idaho
- Illinois
- Kansas
- Maryland
- Missouri
- Montana
- New Jersey
- North Dakota
- Rhode Island
- South Dakota
- Washington, D.C.
Kennedy’s campaign has not yet secured enough signatures to be on the ballot in Mississippi, as reported by Mississippi Today and CBS.
He filed paperwork on Sept. 6 to put himself on the Nov. 5 ballot, even as he works to get it removed in other states. Mississippi is required to publish its sample ballot by Sept. 11.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
