MADISON — Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will remain on the presidential ballot in Wisconsin, even after suspending his campaign and asking for his name to be removed, the Wisconsin Elections Commission decided on Tuesday.
Kennedy has been trying to remove his name from the ballot in battleground states since endorsing former President Donald Trump last week. In Wisconsin, state law says candidates who have requested and qualified for ballot access cannot rescind their requests.
“It literally says if you filed nomination papers, you cannot withdraw unless you’re dead,” said Chair Ann Jacobs, a Democrat, ahead of the commission’s 5-1 vote to put Kennedy on the ballot.
Although Kennedy doesn’t want to pull votes from Trump in battleground states, he is still pushing his supporters to vote for him in less competitive states.
Watch: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will remain on Wisconsin ballot after suspending campaign
“If you live in a blue state, you can vote for me without harming or helping President Trump or Vice President Harris. In red states, the same will apply. I encourage you to vote for me,” he said on Friday.
Small business owner Colin Despins, of Middleton, helped gather signatures for Kennedy to get on the ballot in Wisconsin. In an interview Monday, he said he hoped Kennedy would remain on the ballot.
“I would like to see his name there, regardless of what. I think it was earned, and I don’t think people would be confused,” Despins said.
Despins saw Kennedy’s campaign as a viable third option for voters who have been frustrated by the Democratic and Republican Parties. After Kennedy’s choice to end his campaign, Despins says he isn’t sure who he’ll be voting for in November.
“Whether you’re left-leaning, right-leaning, hard-right or hard-left, the fact of the matter is you’re getting gaslit by your politicians,” he said. “Having a third option that is not, you know, dictated by the duopoly was attractive to a lot of people.”
The elections commission also rejected challenges on Tuesday to Green Party candidate Jill Stein and independent Cornel West appearing on the ballot in Wisconsin. The final lineup on the November ballot will include eight presidential candidates.
