Independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has dropped out of the presidential race and endorsed former president and Republican nominee Donald Trump.
RFK Jr. dropped out of presidential race but he’s still on Minnesota’s November ballot
The campaign must petition the court to get off the ballot once it’s set.
The Minnesota Star Tribune
August 29, 2024 at 7:44PM
Still, Kennedy’s name will appear on Minnesotans’ ballots in the fall unless his campaign takes action to remove it.
Under state law, minor party candidates must petition for signatures to get on the ballot. Kennedy’s campaign gathered more than the 2,000 signatures required for presidential candidates in June and submitted them to the Secretary of State’s office.
The office validated his campaign’s petition and this week certified nine candidates to appear on Minnesota’s presidential ballot on Nov. 5. That includes Democrats Kamala Harris and Tim Walz, Trump and running mate JD Vance, and seven minor-party candidates.
Green Party candidate Jill Stein, Cornel West, who is running under the Justice for All Party, and Libertarian Party candidate Chase Oliver are among those who will appear on the ballot.
For minor party candidates who must petition for ballot access, there is no mechanism for withdrawal once those submitted signatures have been approved, said a spokesman for the Secretary of State’s office. Those candidates will appear on the ballot unless the office “is told otherwise by a court.”
Kennedy’s campaign can go through the courts to petition to be removed from Minnesota’s ballot, but no action has been filed yet.
After pushing for months to get on state ballots, Kennedy’s campaign is now trying to get his name removed in 10 key swing states. That list doesn’t include Minnesota, which hasn’t voted for a Republican presidential candidate in more than 50 years.
Minnesota has a history of backing minor party candidates, including former Gov. Jesse Ventura. The share of voters supporting third-party candidates in presidential races had steadily declined in Minnesota since then, but the number rebounded in 2016 in the race between Trump and Hillary Clinton. More than 8% of Minnesota voters cast their ballots for third-party candidates instead, and Clinton defeated Trump by 1.5 percentage points.
Joe Biden won the state by more than 7 percentage points four years later when roughly 2% of voters supported third-party candidates.
At the recount’s conclusion on Thursday, Brad Tabke had 10,980 votes to Aaron Paul’s 10,965. The outcome of the closely watched Minnesota House race could determine the balance of power in the chamber.
