Why RFK Jr. will still appear on Minnesota's ballot
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Robert F. Kennedy Jr. dropped his bid for president, but he may still appear on Minnesota's November ballot.
Why it matters: Third-party candidates can make a difference in close races.
- In 2016, when Hillary Clinton beat Donald Trump by a 1.5 percentage point margin, other candidates pulled about 9% of the Minnesota vote.
Driving the news: Kennedy announced last Friday that he would suspend his campaign and throw his support behind former President Trump.
Yes, but: His campaign already qualified for the Minnesota ballot by submitting enough valid voter signatures, and the Secretary of State's office says the only way to take him off at this point is via a court order.
- State statute on removing a candidate via court order applies to cases where there was a mistake or the person was later deemed ineligible to run.
By the numbers: Public opinion polls conducted after President Biden left the race — but before Kennedy dropped out — show between 4%-9% of Minnesota voters planned to cast their ballot for someone other than a Democrat or a Republican, per MPR News.
Reality check: Third-party candidates often lose support on Election Day, Arizona-based GOP strategist Barrett Marson told Axios.
- And "Few people will vote for another candidate just because their candidate drops out and endorses someone else," according to Larry Sabato of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia.
The big picture: Kennedy won't be the only third-party choice for Minnesota voters in the general. Six other candidates made the cut by last week's deadline.
Early voting starts Friday, Sept. 20.
Axios' Erin Doherty contributed to this report.