Amid reports that Robert Kennedy Jr. is set to remain on the ballot in Virginia, sources close to the campaign revealed to the Daily Caller that the former presidential candidate intends to remove his name from the ballot in the battleground state.
After dropping out of the presidential race and endorsing Trump for president, Kennedy qualified to be on the Virginia ballot on Thursday. Earlier in the week, the Virginia Department of Elections stated it had received no indication from the Kennedy campaign that it wasn’t seeking to be on the ballot, contradicting Kennedy’s public statement that he would try to get off of battleground state ballots.
Checked with @vaELECT this morning. A spokesperson said, “At this time, the RFK Jr campaign has indicated they intend to continue pursuing ballot access in Virginia.”
— Brendan Ponton (@brendanponton) August 26, 2024
As of Friday, the Virginia Department of Elections told the Caller that the Kennedy campaign had not requested that his name be removed from the ballot. Despite the reports, sources close to the campaign said Kennedy plans to remove his name from the Virginia ballot and is asking his supporters to vote for Trump. The sources were granted anonymity to discuss the campaign operations freely.
Though Virginia does not have a specific date for all of its ballots to be printed, Friday, Sept. 6 is the final day for candidates to qualify to make the state ballot, Angela Gaines, external affairs manager for the Virginia Department of Elections, told the Caller. Early voting begins in the state on Sept. 20.
Though sources told the Caller that Kennedy plans to remove his name from the ballot, at the time of publishing the Department of Elections had not indicated whether the former candidate had made a formal request.
A Virginia Trump campaign official told the Caller that if a candidate moves to pull their name after ballots have been printed, usually a sign will be posted in polling locations noting that the candidate has dropped out of the race. In that situation, voters would still be able to cast their vote for the dropped out candidate, the Virginia Trump official said.
Former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump (R) welcomes onstage Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (L) during a campaign rally at the Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona, August 23, 2024. (Photo by OLIVIER TOURON/AFP via Getty Images)
Kennedy officially dropped out of the presidential race on Aug. 23 and joined forces with Trump during a rally later that day, where he declared his intent to take his name off of swing state ballots.
Despite his wishes, Kennedy currently appears unable to drop from several ballots, such as Nevada and Michigan, where it is too late, according to state law. In Wisconsin, the state election commission voted against Kennedy’s request for removal and then granted him access to the ballot on Tuesday.
“Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has endorsed President Trump and is actively supporting the Trump-Vance campaign. President Trump and Senator Vance are campaigning to earn the votes of every American who supported the Kennedy-Shanahan campaign,” Jeffrey Ryer, a spokesperson for the Virginia Trump campaign, told the Caller. The former president added Kennedy to his transition team as honorary co-chair with former Democratic Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard. (RELATED: ‘They’ve Lost Their Soul’: Former Running Mate Nicole Shanahan Blasts Democratic Party Over Treatment Of RFK Jr.)
Ahead of Kennedy’s decision to drop out of the race, Aug. 20 polling from Roanoke College showed that 6% of Virginians planned to vote for the independent candidate. The poll showed that Vice President Kamala Harris led Trump head-t0-head in the state, 47% to 44%, and similarly led 45%-42% when other candidates were included on the ballot. Respondents told Roanoke College their previous voting plans when Biden was the nominee, and gave Trump a six-point lead. The survey was based on 691 respondents and has a margin of error of 4.5%.
