{"id":2332371,"date":"2024-08-28T08:19:58","date_gmt":"2024-08-28T12:19:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/dems-push-to-keep-rfk-jr-on-swing-state-ballots\/"},"modified":"2024-08-28T08:25:06","modified_gmt":"2024-08-28T12:25:06","slug":"dems-push-to-keep-rfk-jr-on-swing-state-ballots","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/dems-push-to-keep-rfk-jr-on-swing-state-ballots\/","title":{"rendered":"Dems Push To Keep RFK Jr. On Swing State Ballots"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fdems-push-to-keep-rfk-jr-on-swing-state-ballots%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2332371&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The\u2064 article discusses the paradoxical stance of\u200c the Democratic Party regarding third-party \u200dcandidates in the upcoming presidential \u200celection. While the party has worked to prevent leftist candidates from \u2062appearing \u200don ballots, they are actively\u200c fighting to keep Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on the ballot\u2063 after he suspended his\u2062 independent campaign \u200band endorsed Donald \u2062Trump. Elections officials in Michigan and Wisconsin \u200dhave declared that Kennedy must\u2062 remain on the ballot \u200cdue \u2064to\u200b the \u2064timing and rules surrounding minor party\u200c candidates, which prevents them from withdrawing.<\/p>\n<p>Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson stated \u2063that \u2064Kennedy&#8217;s name\u200d will stay\u200d on the November \u200dballot as the Natural Law Party\u2062 has already selected its electors. \u2063This decision may be influenced by polls suggesting that Kennedy could siphon more votes \u200bfrom Trump than\u200b from the Democratic nominee, Kamala Harris. In contrast, Democratic \u2063efforts \u2064to\u2064 exclude other \u2063leftist\u200d candidates,\u200b like Cornel West, from the ballot have seen legal challenges, \u200cwith\u200c courts ruling in favor of \u200cthe candidates&#8217; rights to be on the ballot.<\/p>\n<p>In Wisconsin, the bipartisan elections commission also decided to keep Kennedy\u200b on the \u2064ballot while rejecting attempts to\u2062 remove the Green Party ticket, despite objections from\u200b Democratic representatives. The article highlights a political calculation \u200bby Democrats, as they seek to avoid repeating \u2064past mistakes where third-party \u200dcandidates\u2062 could potentially swing critical states in\u2064 favor of Republicans.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>It&rsquo;s curious. The same Democratic Party that has feverishly tried to keep leftist third-party presidential candidates off November&rsquo;s ballot is now fighting like hell to keep Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on.<\/p>\n<p>On Tuesday, elections officials in two <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/sources-missouri-ag-stopped-working-on-probe-into-zuckbucks\/\" title=\"Sources: Missouri AG &#039;Stopped Working On&#039; Probe Into &#039;Zuckbucks&#039;\">critical swing states &#038;mdash<\/a>; Michigan and Wisconsin &mdash;<a href=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/2024\/08\/27\/us-news\/rfk-jr-to-remain-on-the-ballot-in-key-battleground-states-of-michigan-and-wisconsin\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"> decreed <\/a>that the Kennedy family scion who last week <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/08\/23\/rfk-jr-drops-out-of-2024-race-endorses-trump-for-president\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">suspended his independent run<\/a> and endorsed Donald Trump&rsquo;s presidential campaign will remain on November&rsquo;s ballot. He may face similar problems in other battleground states, such as Nevada and North Carolina.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>&lsquo;His Name Will Remain&rsquo;<\/h2>\n<p>Michigan Secretary of State <a href=\"https:\/\/votebenson.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Jocelyn Benson<\/a>, a hyper-partisan Democrat, said Kennedy must remain on the Nov. 5 general election ballot.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Minor party candidates cannot withdraw, so&nbsp;his name will remain on the ballot,&rdquo; Benson spokeswoman Cheri Hardmon <a href=\"https:\/\/www.detroitnews.com\/story\/news\/politics\/2024\/08\/23\/robert-f-kennedy-rfk-jr-suspends-presidential-campaign-endorses-trump-michigan-ballot-natural-law\/74923208007\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">told<\/a> the Detroit News in an email.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Kennedy was running under the banner of the Natural Law Party in Michigan.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The third-party candidate quickly acted in asking several states to take his name out of the running. Michigan just as quickly said no, with Benson asserting that the timing in state presidential elector law doesn&rsquo;t allow for the Natural Law Party to remove Kennedy. The small political party has already held its convention to elect its electors, Hardmon told the Detroit publication.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;They cannot meet at this point to select new electors since it&rsquo;s past the primary,&rdquo; she said.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>&lsquo;Mechanism to Exclude&rsquo;<\/h2>\n<p>Benson&rsquo;s strict interpretation of Michigan elector law might have something to do with the fact that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/politics\/2024-election\/rfk-jrs-exit-help-trump-according-polls-rcna167539\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">polls <\/a>&mdash; including Kennedy campaign <a href=\"https:\/\/everythinggp.com\/2024\/08\/26\/robert-f-kennedy-jr-says-hes-suspending-his-presidential-bid-and-backing-donald-trump\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">internal polling<\/a> &mdash; show RFK Jr.&rsquo;s presence on the presidential ballot would drain more votes from Republican Trump than Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic Party&rsquo;s freshly minted presidential candidate.<\/p>\n<p>Benson, an extreme liberal in a state governed by extreme liberals, has repeatedly been caught <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bridgemi.com\/michigan-government\/jocelyn-benson-loses-court-third-time-over-her-voting-rules\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">abusing and manipulating Michigan election law<\/a>. She pushed her political agenda in trying to remove leftist third-party presidential candidate Cornel West from Michigan&rsquo;s November ballot.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Judge James R. Redford ruled over the weekend that, contrary to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.michigan.gov\/sos\/elections\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Michigan Bureau of Elections<\/a> decision, West&rsquo;s campaign had presented an adequate number of petition signatures to secure his place on the ballot. Benson joined forces with the state Democratic Party and a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/targeted-assassinations-court-docs-uncover-shocking-details-in-pro-life-womans-5m-win-over-airline-union\/\" title=\"\u2018Targeted Assassinations\u2019: Court Docs Uncover Shocking Details In Pro-Life Woman\u2019s M Win Over Airline, Union\">leftist political action committee<\/a> in arguing that the independent candidate should be denied ballot certification because his campaign did not properly notarize an &ldquo;affidavit of identity.&rdquo; The judge ruled such affidavits are not required.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The Court respectfully concludes the SOS and Director of the Bureau of Elections (DBOE) misapplied the law in finding otherwise,&rdquo; Redford wrote in his brief but direct<a href=\"https:\/\/www.courts.michigan.gov\/4a462b\/siteassets\/case-documents\/opinions-orders\/coc-opinions-(manually-curated)\/2024\/24-000115-mb.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"> order<\/a>. &ldquo;The AOIs [Affidavits of Identity] the candidates filed cannot serve as a mechanism to exclude them from the ballot.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Benson has said she will appeal the decision.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;This ruling is not just a legal victory &mdash; it is a moral victory for everyone who believes in the sanctity of the democratic process,&rdquo; West said in a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cornelwest2024.com\/tags\/victory\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">statement<\/a>. &ldquo;Our campaign submitted over 26,000 signatures, significantly more than required, which the court recognized as a legitimate expression of the people&rsquo;s will.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>But the &ldquo;people&rsquo;s will&rdquo; is subservient to the Democratic Party&rsquo;s insatiable thirst for power. West represents a threat to the Dems&rsquo; prospects in must-win Michigan, with the potential to siphon enough votes away from liberals not sold on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2024\/08\/25\/politics\/kamala-harris-black-joy-movement-cec\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">&ldquo;joy&rdquo; candidate<\/a> Harris to help give Trump a Great Lakes State victory.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>&lsquo;Political Calculation&rsquo;<\/h2>\n<p>In Wisconsin, the politically divided regulator of elections has also declared RFK Jr. must remain on the November ballot, while narrowly rejecting the Democratic National Committee&rsquo;s challenge to the leftist Green Party&rsquo;s presidential ticket.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The six-member Wisconsin Elections Commission, comprised of three Democrats and three Republicans, voted 5-1 on Tuesday to add Kennedy to the Badger State ballot, despite his campaign&rsquo;s request to remove it. WEC administrators pointed to a state statute that they say prohibits qualifying candidates from declining nomination.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Bob Spindell, one of the three Republicans on the commission, was the lone dissenting vote. He told The Federalist in an interview Tuesday night that the state <a href=\"https:\/\/docs.legis.wisconsin.gov\/statutes\/statutes\/8\/35#:~:text=8.35%20Vacancies%20after%20nomination.,of%20death%20of%20the%20person.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">statute<\/a> on the issue is open to commission discretion. The commission used its discretion to add RFK Jr.&rsquo;s name to the list of presidential candidates in the general election.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Two of the commission&rsquo;s three Democrats, meanwhile, attempted to block Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein and her running mate, Butch Ware, from the ballot. The <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/08\/27\/democrats-lose-ploy-to-remove-green-party-ticket-from-wisconsin-ballot\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">day before<\/a>, the Wisconsin Supreme Court decided not to take up what Spindell described as the DNC&rsquo;s &ldquo;facetious&rdquo; complaint to undercut the Greens&rsquo; challenge to Democratic Party votes. &nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>A DNC representative claimed that the Green Party&rsquo;s candidates were disqualified from Wisconsin&rsquo;s presidential election because there are no Green Party members represented in state offices or in the legislature. So the party has no one to nominate presidential electors.&nbsp;Legal experts argued it was a bogus claim and a twisted reading of the law.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I think it&rsquo;s purely a political move,&rdquo; Spindell said. &ldquo;All this stuff is political calculation.&rdquo;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The math is quite clear. Stein, the Green Party presidential candidate in 2016, grabbed some <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/08\/27\/democrats-lose-ploy-to-remove-green-party-ticket-from-wisconsin-ballot\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">31,000 votes<\/a> in the swing state election. Democrats complained Stein&rsquo;s tiny fraction of the vote was more than enough to turn Wisconsin red for Trump, who beat former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton in the state by less than 21,000 votes. They learned their lesson. In 2020, the self-proclaimed protectors of democracy successfully kept the Green Party ticket off the ballot with a dubious complaint. Democrat Joe Biden, interestingly, claimed victory over Trump by less than 21,000 votes.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The Democrats also tried to keep West off the Wisconsin ballot, but the commission voted 5-1 to add the independent presidential candidate&rsquo;s name to the list.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>West, the Green Party candidates, and the two major party players, will be joined by the Libertarian Party and Constitution Party contestants, which traditionally draw conservative-leaning voters. The Republican Party did not challenge their placement on the ballot.&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/republican-lawyers-cornel-west-arizona-88cd1b4f698715a3071a93b5e1526074\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">GOP-tied attorneys<\/a> have worked to help West get on ballots, including in battleground Arizona.<\/p>\n<p>RFK Jr., son of slain former U.S. Sen. Bobby Kennedy and the nephew of assassinated President John F. Kennedy, was a lifelong Democrat until last October, when he left the party in disgust. He said he felt betrayed that the party of the Kennedys is not the Democratic Party of today. In his speech on Friday, he called out Democrats for subverting democracy through the coronation of Harris as the party&rsquo;s presidential nominee following its soft coup of political albatross, President Joe Biden.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;[The party] deployed DNC-aligned judges to throw me and other candidates off the ballot and to throw President Trump in jail,&rdquo; Kennedy <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/townhallcom\/status\/1827059198519341422\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">said<\/a>. &ldquo;It ran a sham primary that was rigged to prevent any serious challenge to President Biden. Then, when a predictably bungled debate performance precipitated the palace coup against President Biden, the same shadowy DNC operatives appointed his successor &mdash; also without an election.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>      Matt Kittle is a senior elections correspondent for The Federalist. An <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-knew-100-percent-he-was-fighting-for-the-little-guy-former-top-trump-economic-adviser\/\" title=\"Trump Knew \u2018100 Percent\u2019 He Was \u2018Fighting for the Little Guy\u2019: Former Top Trump Economic Adviser\">award-winning investigative reporter<\/a> and 30-year veteran of print, broadcast, and online journalism, Kittle previously served as the executive director of Empower Wisconsin.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>It&#8217;s interesting to note that the Democratic Party, which has been actively working to exclude leftist third-party presidential candidates from the November ballot, is now vigorously defending Robert F. Kennedy Jr.&#8217;s place on it. On Tuesday, election officials in two key swing states\u2014Michigan and Wisconsin\u2014ruled that Kennedy, who recently halted his independent campaign and endorsed Donald Trump&#8217;s presidential bid, will remain on the ballot. He may encounter similar challenges in other battleground states like Nevada and North Carolina.<\/p>\n<p>In Michigan, Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson\u2014a staunch Democrat\u2014asserted that Kennedy must stay on the November 5 general election ballot. A spokesperson for Benson stated via email to the Detroit News that &#8220;minor party candidates cannot withdraw,&#8221; ensuring his name remains listed. Kennedy was running under the Natural Law Party in Michigan.<\/p>\n<p>Despite quickly requesting several states to remove his name from consideration, Michigan promptly denied this request. Benson explained that state law regarding presidential electors does not permit the Natural Law Party to withdraw Kennedy since they have already held their convention to select electors.<\/p>\n<p>Benson&#8217;s strict interpretation of Michigan&#8217;s electoral laws may be influenced by polling data indicating that RFK Jr.&#8217;s candidacy could siphon more votes from Trump than from Vice President Kamala Harris\u2014the Democratic nominee. As a prominent liberal figure in a heavily liberal state, Benson has faced accusations of misusing election laws; she previously attempted to disqualify leftist candidate Cornel West from appearing on Michigan\u2019s ballot but was overruled by Judge James R. Redford.<\/p>\n<p>Redford determined West had submitted enough valid signatures for ballot access and criticized Benson&#8217;s interpretation of election law as incorrect. He emphasized that affidavits filed by candidates should not serve as grounds for exclusion from ballots.<\/p>\n<p>Benson plans to appeal this ruling while West celebrated it as both a legal and moral victory reflecting public sentiment through over 26,000 signatures collected for his campaign.<\/p>\n<p>However, this notion of &#8220;the people&#8217;s will&#8221; seems secondary to the Democratic Party&#8217;s relentless pursuit of power; West poses a potential risk in crucial Michigan by drawing votes away from Democrats who might otherwise support Harris but are hesitant about her candidacy.<\/p>\n<p>In Wisconsin, an equally divided elections commission ruled RFK Jr.\u2019s name must also remain on their November ballot while rejecting challenges against Green Party candidates put forth by the Democratic National Committee (DNC). The commission voted 5-1 in favor of adding Kennedy despite requests for removal based on state statutes preventing qualified candidates from declining nominations.<\/p>\n<p>One Republican commissioner expressed concern about how discretion was applied regarding these decisions while two Democrats sought unsuccessfully to block Green Party nominees due to claims about their lack of representation within state offices\u2014a contention deemed legally unfounded by experts.<\/p>\n<p>The political implications are clear: Jill Stein\u2019s Green Party garnered around 31,000 votes during Wisconsin\u2019s last swing state election cycle\u2014votes some argue were pivotal in Trump narrowly defeating Hillary Clinton there four years ago\u2014and Democrats learned hard lessons after successfully keeping Stein off ballots during Biden\u2019s run against Trump when he won again with similarly slim margins.<\/p>\n<p>Kennedy himself transitioned away from lifelong Democratic affiliation last October out of frustration with what he perceives as a betrayal by today\u2019s party compared with its historical roots represented by figures like his father Bobby and uncle John F. He criticized current party dynamics surrounding Harris\u2019 nomination process as undemocratic manipulation orchestrated through DNC influence rather than genuine electoral competition.<\/p>\n<p>Matt Kittle serves as senior elections correspondent at The Federalist with extensive experience across various media platforms including investigative reporting roles throughout three decades within journalism fields ranging print\/broadcast\/online formats alike; previously leading Empower Wisconsin initiatives too!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":656,"featured_media":2332372,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-28-at-2.00.34-AM-1024x510.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[32479,3933,6571,32458,32115],"class_list":["post-2332371","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-ballot-access","tag-dems","tag-elections","tag-rfk-jr","tag-swing-states"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-28-at-2.00.34-AM-1024x510.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2332371","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/656"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2332371"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2332371\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2332372"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2332371"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2332371"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2332371"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}