3 swing states where RFK Jr.'s plan to help Trump is in trouble

• When Robert F. Kennedy Jr. suspended his campaign and endorsed Donald Trump, he said that he planned to withdraw from swing-state ballots where polls showed Trump would benefit in a head-to-head matchup with Vice President Kamala Harris.
• But Kennedy's get-off-the-ballot strategy has not gone according to plan.
• Kennedy is stuck on the ballot in North Carolina, Wisconsin and Michigan, significantly reducing the potential electoral boost Trump could get in these states from Kennedy's exit.

When Robert F. Kennedy Jr. dropped his independent White House bid and endorsed former President Donald Trump in August, he laid out an electoral strategy he said would boost the Republican nominee's chances in must-win battleground states.

Kennedy, who spent most of his campaign fighting for ballot access, announced Aug. 23 that he would reverse course and remove his name from swing-state ballots where Trump stood to benefit from a head-to-head matchup with Vice President Kamala Harris.

"Our polling consistently showed that by staying on the ballot in the battleground states, I would likely hand the election over to the Democrats," Kennedy said.

But Kennedy's get-off-the-ballot strategy has not gone according to plan.

Despite his efforts to withdraw his name so that it doesn't appear on printed ballots as an option, Kennedy is stuck on the ballot in North Carolina, Wisconsin and Michigan.

This significantly reduces the potential electoral boost Trump could get in these states from Kennedy's exit.

Minor-party candidates cannot withdraw in Michigan. On Tuesday, a Michigan Court of Claims judge rejected Kennedy's challenge to the state's decision.

Wisconsin's Elections Commission has voted to keep Kennedy on the state's ballot. North