Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announces his campaign future in Phoenix, Arizona, USA, 23 August 2024.
Thomas Makowitz | Reuters
Former independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. plans to run for the Michigan seat in November. supreme court The ruling, handed down Monday, could strengthen Democratic candidate Vice President Kamala Harris’ national candidacy position over Republican candidate former President Donald Trump.
The Supreme Court on Friday overturned a Michigan appeals court decision that had removed Kennedy from the state’s ballot against the wishes of Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson.
The Supreme Court’s majority decision on Monday was unsigned, but a reading of the ruling shows that five of the seven justices who heard the case voted to keep Kennedy’s name on the ballot.
In Michigan, Harris leads Trump in the polling average regardless of the number of candidates, but her lead over Trump in head-to-head races is shrinking.
Michigan received 15 electoral college votes (the body that chooses the winner of the US presidential election), the second-highest number among battleground states after Pennsylvania.
Kennedy suspended his campaign activities on August 23 and vowed to support Trump, saying he planned to remove his name from the ballot in battleground states that would favor Trump, such as Michigan.
Kennedy, who was nominated by Michigan’s Natural Law Party, filed suit after Benson refused his request to remove the name.
Benson said in his ruling: Michigan LawThe law stipulates that candidates from minor parties who accept the nomination cannot withdraw from the election.
In Monday’s ruling, a majority of the Michigan Supreme Court wrote that Kennedy “has not pointed to any source of law prescribing or defining the duty to withdraw a candidate’s name from the ballot, nor has he demonstrated a clear legal right to exercise this specific duty.”
“therefore, [Kennedy] “They have not demonstrated that they are entitled to this extraordinary relief,” the court majority said in its decision.
The two dissenting justices, Brian Zahra and David Biviano, wrote that by leaving Kennedy on Michigan’s ballot, “the Secretary of State unfairly and unnecessarily deprives herself of the right to choose from among candidates who will actually serve their duties if elected.”
In their final remarks, the dissenters emphasized how significant the majority’s decision would be in determining the outcome of the presidential election.
“We hope that the Chief Justice’s misguided actions, endorsed by this court, will not have national repercussions,” they wrote.
Wisconsin and North Carolina also rejected Kennedy’s request to remove his name from the ballot.
As well as Michigan, Kennedy has sued officials in two other states to remove his name from the ballot.
A North Carolina appeals court on Friday sided with Kennedy and ordered state election officials not to mail out ballots bearing his name as planned the same day.
“We have not yet decided whether we will appeal this ruling,” Paul Cox, general counsel for the North Carolina State Board of Elections, wrote in a memo to county election boards on Friday.
A judge has yet to rule on Kennedy’s case in Wisconsin.
In Wisconsin, Harris’ polling lead over Trump would shrink if the field was narrowed to two candidates, while in North Carolina, Trump would have the lead in that scenario, according to RealClearPolling.
Kennedy also successfully withdrew his name from the ballot in four battleground states: Pennsylvania, Arizona, Nevada and Georgia.
But polls suggest a two-way race in Georgia and Nevada could increase Harris’ chances of winning over Trump.
