Robert F. Kennedy Jr.—who suspended his presidential campaign and endorsed former President Donald Trump in August—urged people across the U.S. not to vote for him as concerns about third-party candidates spoiling the election outcome in at least two key states persist.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the former Democratic and independent presidential candidate, is urging his ... [+]
“No matter what state you live in, you should be voting for Donald Trump. And let me tell you why. That's the only way that we can get me and everything I stand for into Washington, DC, and fulfill the mission that motivated my campaign,” Kennedy said in a video posted to X, formerly known as Twitter, on Monday morning.
Kennedy was able to get his name off of the ballot in most key battleground states, but remains on the ballot in dozens of states, including battlegrounds Michigan and Wisconsin, where some voters say they will still support him—taking key votes away from Trump or Vice President Kamala Harris in what is expected to be a tight election.
A poll from PIC-MRA of Lansing for the Detroit Free Press conducted Oct. 24-28 and released Oct. 31 found Harris was leading Trump 48% to 45%, but Kennedy had 3% support.
Five percent of self-described Republicans in that poll said they were supporting Kennedy, as did 6% of independents, the Free Press reported (the poll had a margin of error of 4 points and surveyed 600 likely voters).
A Marquette University Law School poll conducted Oct. 16-24 and released Oct. 30 found that in a multi-candidate race in Wisconsin Harris led Trump 46% to 44%, while Kennedy—a majority of whose supporters said they would back Trump when asked to choose—got 5% of the vote (the poll had a margin of error of 4.4 and surveyed 753 likely voters).
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Third-party candidates could hurt Harris, too. The Detroit Free Press poll found the Green Party candidate Jill Stein—who was blamed for taking votes away from Hillary Clinton in 2016—has 3% support in the recent Michigan poll, possibly enough to sway the outcome. Only 1% of self-described Democrats in the poll said they would vote for Stein, but 13% of independents said they’d vote for her, the Free Press reported. In the Marquette poll for Wisconsin, Stein—most of whose supporters preferred Harris to Trump—had less support, drawing just 1% in a multi-candidate race.
Kennedy launched his presidential run as a Democrat before switching to run as an independent. He suspended his campaign on Aug. 23, acknowledged he did not have a “realistic path to an electoral victory” and endorsed Trump. After dropping out, Kennedy said he would remove his name from the ballots in states where he could be a spoiler, and was able to get off in swing states Pennsylvania, Nevada, Georgia, Arizona and North Carolina, and a number of other states—though The New York Times reported he remained on the ballot in nearly 30 states as of mid-October.
1.1. That’s how many points Harris was leading Trump nationally as of Monday afternoon, according to FiveThiryEight’s national polling average. RealClearPolitics’ polling average had Trump leading by 0.1 points, though.
“A disputed election result would be a disaster for our divided nation,” Kennedy said in the video. “President Trump needs to win in a landslide, both in the Electoral College and in the popular vote. He can't do that unless my supporters join him. So, look at the big picture. We have to unify.”
Kennedy appealed to the Supreme Court to get off the ballot in both Michigan and Wisconsin, but the court rejected his request late last week. Kennedy had argued the states were violating his First and Fourteenth Amendment rights by leaving him on the ballot after he requested to be removed. As is common, the Supreme Court did not provide its reasoning.