RFK won't be on the ballot in Virginia, but these six presidential candidates will

Driving the news: RJK Jr. won't have to worry about a lawsuit in Virginia. The state department of elections removed him from the ballot at the campaign's request, a spokesperson tells Axios.

The big picture: Independent or third-party candidates were expected to play an outsized role in this year's presidential race, at least when the front-runners were historically unpopular, Axios' April Rubin reported.

• Despite Virginia swinging solidly Democratic in the last four presidential elections, the not-Trump or Harris candidates could still attract a small number of votes, George Mason Dean of the School of Policy and Government Mark Rozell told the Times-Dispatch.

Zoom in: Virginia requires prospective presidential candidates to collect 5,000 signatures and pledges from the state's 13 electors to appear on its ballot, per the state department of elections. The presidential candidates who made the cut are:

• Kamala D. Harris, Democrat
• Donald J. Trump, Republican
• Jill E. Stein, Green Party
• Chase R. Oliver, Libertarian
• Claudia De la Cruz, Independent
• Cornel West, Independent

What's next: Early voting starts in Virginia on Sept. 20.

Editor's note: This story has been updated to include Cornel West, who the Virginia Department of Elections added to the ballot in September.