Amid the 2024 election, a state judge in North Carolina ruled on Monday that Presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will remain on the state ballot, denying a request to block the printing of his name in November.
Announcing his presidential campaign in April 2023, Kennedy, who originally contested the Democratic primary against President Joe Biden, who has since stepped down and endorsed presumptive Democratic nominee Kamala Harris, has aimed to remain in the race as an independent candidate. However, Kennedy still does not have ballot access in every U.S. state as his campaign continues to take legal action in some states to ensure he is on the ballot in November.
On Monday, Wake County Superior Court Judge Keith Gregory ruled against the North Carolina Democratic Party, which sought to prevent Kennedy’s name on the state ballot.
According to the Associated Press, the state Democratic party argued that his campaign’s use of the “We the People” party was a way to evade the stricter requirements for independent candidates.
However, the judge found no legal basis for the Democrats‘ claim.
“You simply asked this court to look at the law and you said the state board didn’t violate it,” Gregory told state attorney Terence Steed at the hearing, the AP reported. “I agree.”
The decision came after a nearly two-hour hearing where both sides presented their arguments.
The “We the People” party, backed by Kennedy supporters, was recognized by the North Carolina State Board of Elections in a 4-1 vote last month. The party’s certification followed a successful petition drive that gathered more than the required 13,865 valid signatures from registered voters. The certification was seen as a way for Kennedy to gain ballot access in multiple states while presenting himself as an independent candidate on the national stage.
The decision, however, could still be appealed.
Newsweek has reached out to the North Carolina Democratic Party and Kennedy’s campaign via email for comment.
This comes as Kennedy has repeatedly claimed he will contest the election nationally, and his campaign says it has a dedicated public plan to get ballot access across the country.
Last week, Kennedy won a legal battle to appear on the New Jersey ballot. He had been challenged as being an invalid candidate under the state’s “sore loser law” due to switching to an independent after losing the Democratic primary. He faces a similar challenge in New York.
But despite the challenges, he has so far been confirmed on the presidential ballot in 15 states, including in three battleground states: North Carolina, Michigan, and Nevada.
