Robert F. Kennedy’s Jr.’s request to remove his name from the ballot in Wisconsin was denied by a judge who ruled Monday that state law mandates that candidates remain on the ballot as long as they are still alive, the Associated Press reported.
Dane County Circuit Judge Stephan Ehlke maintained that because Kennedy’s campaign submitted nomination papers before the state’s Aug. 6 deadline, the previously independent candidate is now stuck in the race. Kennedy, who last month endorsed Donald Trump after withdrawing from the race, has sought to remove his name from ballots in battleground states so as to not pull votes from the former president.
“The statute is plain on its face,” Ehlke said, adding “Mr. Kennedy has no one to blame but himself if he didn’t want to be on the ballot,” NBC Chicago reported.
This was not the plan. Kennedy suspended his campaign in August to endorse Trump, reassuring his supporters that while he’d remove his name from key swing states, he’d leave it in major states where the race’s outcome is unlikely to change with the votes he garners.
However, it appears that Kennedy is running out of time to erase his name from the Wisconsin ballot — county clerks will print ballots and distribute them to over 1,800 local officials who run elections by this Wednesday.