Robert F. Kennedy Jr. withdraws from Nebraska presidential race; Five Points

LINCOLN — Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will not appear on Nebraska’s presidential election along with five other candidates after withdrawing his name from the ballot.

KennedySuccessfully applied to participate in votingincluding more thanchallenge Nebraska Democrats removed him from the election. Democratic candidate Kennedy, who turned independent, announced last month that he would suspend his campaign and withdraw his name from the ballot in some states. He supported former President Donald J. Trump.

Nebraska Secretary of State Bob Evening’s office said Kennedy withdrew his name from the ballot on Monday, the same day all national party convention officials were required to certify their candidates.

Four political parties have confirmed their candidates, and one candidate has successfully petitioned to appear on the November 5th ballot.

Donal-Gene Barton, a political scientist at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, said Kennedy’s withdrawal from the vote could help Trump in Nebraska’s swing 2nd Congressional District.

The district is reaching out to President Biden in the following ways:2020 22,091 votesTrump passed2016 6,534 votesU.S. Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, by:2012 19,087 votes and President Barack Obama3,370 in 2008 (For the first time, the state allocated its electoral votes to Democrats).

Nebraska and Maine are the only two states that divide electors based on the winner of the statewide popular vote (two votes) and the winner of the state’s national congressional district. Nebraska has three congressional districts.

The presidential and vice presidential candidates confirmed on the Nebraska ballot are:

• Republicans – Former President Donald J. Trump (President) and U.S. Senator J.D. Vance, Republican of Ohio (Vice President).
• Democrats – Vice President Kamala Harris (Chair) and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz (Vice President).
• Libertarian Party – Chase Oliver (Chairman) and Mike Turmat (Vice President).
• Legal Marijuana Now Party — Cornel West (Chair) and Melina Abdullah (Vice Chair).
• By petition – Jill Stein (Chair) and Samson Kapadenu (Vice Chairman). Stein successfully applied to be on Nebraska’s 2016 ballot.

Indian-born independent candidate Shiva Ayyadurai also collected enough signatures to appear on the ballot. But Avnen rejected Ayadulay’s application because he was “undisputedly” not a natural-born citizen as required by the U.S. Constitution. Ayadulay’s running mate, Crystal Ellis, is from Omaha.

The presence of multiple candidates on the ballot could trigger “spoilers,” or votes, that could lead to slim margins in close races. Nebraska voters will have their most presidential choices since 2008, when there were six candidates.

Patton said she hasn’t seen enough data to know whether Stein or West could have changed the outcome, but she suspects not.

Nebraska Examiner political reporter Aaron Sandford contributed to this report.