Wisconsin denies RFK Jr. request to be removed from ballot after endorsing Trump

• The Wisconsin Elections Commission on Tuesday voted to keep Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on the state's November ballot.
• Kennedy on Friday suspended his campaign and endorsed Donald Trump.
• The decision thwarts the former third-party candidate's plan to remove his name from ballots in key battleground states — a move that would likely help Trump's electoral chances.
• Kennedy's name will likely stay on the ballot in Wisconsin, Michigan and North Carolina.

The Wisconsin Elections Commission on Tuesday voted to keep Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on the state's November presidential ballot, thwarting the former third-party candidate's plan to remove his name from ballots in key battleground states set to decide the 2024 presidential election.

The Wisconsin Elections Commission voted 5-1 Tuesday to keep Kennedy's name on its ballot in keeping with state law, which dictates that, "Any person who files nomination papers and qualifies to appear on the ballot may not decline nomination."

A spokesman for Trump did not immediately respond to CNBC's request for comment on the state's decision.

Kennedy suspended his long shot bid for the White House on Aug. 23, and endorsed Republican nominee Donald Trump for president.

Appearing with Trump in Arizona, Kennedy said his name would remain on the ballots in most states.

But "in about ten battleground states where my presence would be a spoiler, I'm going to remove my name," Kennedy said. "I've already started that process and urge voters not to vote for me."

The move is widely viewed as effort to help Trump by making sure that Kennedy voters not have the option to cast their ballots for him in states that could be decided by tiny margins of voters.

Polling initially indicated that Kennedy's exit from