RFK Jr. to stay on Wisconsin ballot after endorsing Trump

The Wisconsin Elections Commission on Tuesday voted to keep Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on the state’s November presidential ballot, thwarting the former third-party candidate‘s plan to remove his name from ballots in key battleground states set to decide the 2024 presidential election.

The Wisconsin Elections Commission voted 5-1 Tuesday to keep Kennedy’s name on its ballot in keeing with state law, which dictates that, “Any person who files nomination papers and qualifies to appear on the ballot may not decline nomination.”

A spokesman for Trump did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment on the state’s decision.

Kennedy suspended his long shot bid for the White House on Aug. 23, and endorsed Republican nominee Donald Trump for president.

Appearing with Trump in Arizona, Kennedy said his name would remain on the ballots in most states.

But “in about ten battleground states where my presence would be a spoiler, I’m going to remove my name,” Kennedy said. “I’ve already started that process and urge voters not to vote for me.”

The move is widely viewed as effort to help Trump by making sure that Kennedy voters not have the option to cast their ballots for him in states that could be decided by tiny margins of voters.

Polling initially indicated that Kennedy’s exit from the race would likely help Trump more than it would benefit his opponent, the Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala Harris.

That’s in part because Kennedy is much more popular with Republicans than he is with Democrats, making Trump better positioned to pick up would-be Kennedy voters than Harris is.

But this strategy works best if voters do not have the option to vote for Kennedy, because his name does not appear on the ballot.

But Kennedy’s strategy of dropping out and seeking to remove his name from the ballot in key states is not going entirely to plan.

In Wisconsin, Michigan, Nevada and North Carolina — four battleground states — Kennedy’s name will likely remain on the ballot through November.

In April, Kennedy secured a spot on Michigan’s ballot as the nominee of the Natural Law Party.

Per state law, it’s too late for the Natural Law Party to select new electors, so Kennedy’s name will stay on the ballot, Cheri Hardmon, senior press secretary for Michigan’s secretary of state, told CNBC in an email.

In Michigan, “Minor party candidates cannot withdraw,” Hardmon wrote.

In North Carolina, Kennedy is set to appear on the ballot as the We The People Party’s nominee.

As of Tuesday, “That party has not informed the State Board of any plans to change its nomination,”…