Former independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s request to be removed from the ballot in Wisconsin has been denied by a Dane County judge.
In August, Kennedy suspended his campaign and endorsed former President Donald Trump. He urged his supporters in solidly blue or red states to vote for him but urged his supporters in swing states to vote for Trump, vowing to try and remove his name from the ballot in every swing state.
Earlier this month, Kennedy filed a lawsuit in the state to remove him from the ballot, arguing that third-party candidates are discriminated against because Wisconsin law treats Republicans and Democrats running for president differently. Kennedy noted that state law says Republicans and Democrats have until 5 p.m. on the first Tuesday in September before an election to certify their presidential nominee but that independent candidates must withdraw before the Aug. 6 deadline for submitting nomination papers.
Dane County Circuit Judge Stephen Ehlke denied Kennedy’s request in no uncertain terms. Ehlke ruled that Wisconsin law states that once candidates file valid nomination papers, they will remain on the ballot, only unless a candidate dies.
“The statute is plain on its face,” the judge said, noting many local municipalities had begun printing ballots.
“Mr. Kennedy has no one to blame but himself if he didn’t want to be on the ballot,” Ehlke said.
Wisconsin is one of several battleground states set to determine the outcome of the 2024 elections and has a near-even split between voters registered with the Democratic Party and the Republican Party.
In 2016, Trump flipped Wisconsin red for the first time since 1984 by a little more than 27,000 votes. In 2020, President Joe Biden flipped the state back to blue by only 20,000 votes.
The presence of independent and third-party candidates could factor into the election results in the state. During the 2016 elections, Green Party candidate Jill Stein received just over 31,000 votes in Wisconsin, which was more than Trump’s winning margin of a little under 23,000 votes.
So far, Kennedy has had mixed success in his request to take himself off the ballot in swing states.
In neighboring Michigan, a judge ruled it was too late for him to withdraw his name from the ballot. Kennedy fought the decision but lost earlier this month when Michigan Court of Claims Judge Christopher Yates determined the deadline for him to withdraw and be removed from the ballot had passed. The Michigan Supreme Court upheld this ruling, effectively ending his drive to take himself off the ballot.
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“Elections are not just games, and the Secretary of State (SOS) is not obligated to honor the whims of candidates for public office,” Yates wrote. “Because the Court concludes that the SOS acted well within the bounds of the law, the Court shall deny the requests by plaintiff for (relief).”
Kennedy successfully took himself off the ballot in the swing states of Arizona, Georgia, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania. He will remain on the Michigan, Nevada, and Wisconsin ballots.