JUST IN: Michigan's Dem sec of state keeps RFK Jr.’s name on ballot, while planning to keep Cornell West off

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has been denied the ability to take his name off the ticket in the swing state of Michigan, possibly opening up an avenue for more votes to go to him instead of Kamala Harris or Donald Trump. This comes as the Michigan secretary of state is moving to keep leftist Cornell West off the ballot.

According to Axios, Kennedy will not be able to remove his name from the ballot. The senior press secretary for Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson told the outlet, "Minor party candidates cannot withdraw, so his name will remain on the ballot in the November election."



Kennedy, who made it onto the ballot as the nominee for the Natural Law Party, was nominated earlier in the year. The press secretary added, "The Natural Law Party held their convention to select electors for [RFK Jr.]. They cannot meet at this point to select new electors since it's past the primary." Keeping Kennedy on the ballot is more likely to damage Trump in the election.

However, at the same time, Benson is planning on appealing a court decision in an attempt to keep left-wing third-party candidate Cornell West off the ballot. Court of Claims Judge James Robert Redford has ruled West can stay on the ballot in the state, but Benson plans to appeal the decision, per ABC News. If West is taken off the ballot, it would likely help support for Vice President Kamala Harris.

On Tuesday, Trump named Kenedy as well as Tulsi Gabbard, another Democrat-turned-independent, to be on his presidential transition team. Kennedy said on Friday that if he were to remain on the ballot in battleground states he "would most likely hand the election to the Democrats, with whom I disagree on most existential issues." The law keeping Kennedy on the ballot may prove to be an issue for getting his supporters to make the switch over to Trump if Kennedy remains on the ballot come November.

In June, the Democratic Party sued to kick Kennedy off several swing state ballots, per CBS News. He spoke about the topic at length in his speech on Friday when he threw his support behind Trump.

“The DNC dragged us into court, state after state, attempting to erase their work and to subvert the will of the voters who signed those petitions,” Kennedy said. “It deployed DNC aligned judges throw me and other candidates off the ballot and to throw President Trump in jail.” Instead of removing him off the ballot, Democrats may now be more motivated to see Kennedy stay on the ballot in swing states.