RFK Jr. still on the ballot in Virginia

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — Despite formally dropping out of the race for president last week, former independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s name is still on the ballot in Virginia.

A spokesperson for the Virginia Department of Elections (ELECT) confirmed to 8News that Kennedy is qualified to be on the ballot.

“If it’s close in Virginia, RFK getting a few votes might actually swing the difference,” Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) Political Science Professor Alex Keena told 8News.

ELECT added that any candidate can request to have their name removed from the ballot before they are printed, which will happen in the next few weeks. But so far, Kennedy hasn’t done that.  Keena says if Kennedy’s name does remain on the ballot, it’s more likely to hurt former President Donald Trump, whom Kennedy has endorsed.

“Certainly a large share of RFK Jr.’s support is voters who would be more aligned to Trump, at least closer in their preferences to Trump than Harris,” Keena said.

A recent poll from Roanoke College found that 6% of likely voters in Virginia planned on supporting Kennedy. Now, the question is whether they support a candidate who’s dropped out of the race — Keena says it’s possible.

“It’s possible that low education voters who aren’t aware that he dropped out of the race and endorses former President Trump, might look at the ballot and see two names that they are not crazy about and choose another name that they are familiar with,” Keena said.

Early voting in Virginia begins on Sept. 20.

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