Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has lost a federal appeal of Michigan's decision to keep him on the ballot in this year's presidential election, potentially dealing a blow to former President Donald Trump.
Kennedy, who suspended his presidential campaign and endorsed Trump last month, sued Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson after she denied his request to remove his name from the state's ballots, despite missing a deadline to do so.
Michigan's Natural Law Party nominated Kennedy as its candidate earlier this year and has opposed his request to remove his name from the ballot, citing concerns about being able to place candidates on ballots in future elections.
Benson has said that candidates cannot withdraw after accepting a minor party's nomination. She also said that taking Kennedy's name off the ballot would cost the state $500,000 in Wayne County alone because an overwhelming majority of ballots have already been printed.
On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Denise Hood sided with Benson, ruling that "the harm incurred" by Michigan voters, the Natural Law Party and Benson "outweighs" any potential harm to Kennedy.
"Plaintiff's only stated harm is to his reputation," Hood wrote in the ruling. "States have a strong interest in their ability to enforce state election law requirements...Reprinting ballots at this late hour would undoubtedly halt the voting process in Michigan and cause a burden to election officials."
She continued: "The Natural Law Party will also face harm. To allow Plaintiff to unilaterally withdraw from the ballot would leave supporters of the Natural Law Party without a candidate on the ballot."
Newsweek reached out for comment to Kennedy's campaign via email on Wednesday.
While declaring his support for Trump and vowing to remove his name from swing state ballots last month, Kennedy also urged voters in states where he remains on the ballot to continue voting for him due to his belief that he could still become president "in a contingent election."
Michigan is considered one of at least seven states that could prove decisive in November. Kennedy said that he wanted to withdraw his name because he believed that keeping it on the ballot could help Vice President Kamala Harris and hurt Trump.
Kennedy, the son of former Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy and the nephew of former President John F. Kennedy, who were both Democrats, has already successfully removed his name in four swing states.
Ballots in Arizona, North Carolina, Nevada and Pennsylvania will no longer feature Kennedy's name, while he never qualified for the ballot in Georgia. His name is set to remain on the ballot in Michigan, Wisconsin and dozens of other states that most do not consider battlegrounds.
Five of Kennedy's siblings condemned their brother for endorsing Trump in a statement released last month, saying that his endorsement of the Republican former president was "a betrayal of the values that our father and family hold most dear" and declaring support for Harris and her running mate Tim Walz.
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Update 09/18/24 7:49 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information.
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Aila Slisco is a Newsweek night reporter based in New York. Her focus is on reporting national politics, where she ... Read more
