Since his withdrawal from the presidential race and endorsement of former President Donald Trump, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has pushed to have his name removed from the ballot in swing states — even suing North Carolina to try to force removal.

But his team in Mississippi is still working to get him on the ballot here.

On Friday, ahead of a Sept. 6 deadline, Kennedy’s campaign filed paperwork, including 1,000 registered voter signatures, to put Kennedy on the Nov. 5 ballot as an independent candidate in the Magnolia State. The ballot is still pending approval of candidates and their paperwork by the Mississippi State Board of Election Commissioners — comprised of the governor, attorney general and secretary of state.

The deadline for the secretary of state to publish a sample ballot for Mississippi is Sept. 11.

The Kennedy campaign contact did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday.

Kennedy earlier this year was fighting legal hurdles that would have prevented him from being on the ballot in several states. Since his withdrawal from the race, he said he would push to have his name removed from the ballot in swing states, fearing he would be a “spoiler” that could hurt Trump and saying, “I would likely hand the election over to the Democrats, with whom I disagree on the most existential issues.”

Kennedy’s team has said it’s not concerned about him staying on the ballot in predominantly blue states, where he’s unlikely to hurt Trump’s performance. It’s unclear what the strategy would be for him being on the ballot in reliably red Mississippi.

Kennedy sued North Carolina’s election board on Friday, after it denied his request to remove his name. He’s also pushing to be removed from the ballot in the swing states of Michigan and Wisconsin.

In June, Kennedy’s campaign issued a press release saying it had completed paperwork and other requirements to get on the ballot in Mississippi. But the secretary of state’s office at the time responded that his paperwork had not been completed at that time.

 

By Geoff Pender, Mississippi Today