LINCOLN — Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will not appear on Nebraska’s ballot for president among five other candidates after withdrawing his name from the ballot.

Kennedy had successfully petitioned to appear on the ballot, including over a challenge from the Nebraska Democratic Party to boot him from the ticket. Kennedy, a Democratic candidate turned independent, announced last month he was suspending his campaign and withdrawing his name from the ballot in select states. He endorsed former President Donald J. Trump.

Nebraska Secretary of State Bob Evnen’s office said Kennedy withdrew his name from the ballot on Monday, the same day all national political party convention officers needed to certify their respective candidates.

Four political parties confirmed their candidates, and one other candidate successfully petitioned and will appear on the Nov. 5 ballot.

Dona-Gene Barton, a political scientist at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, said Kennedy getting off the ballot might help Trump in Nebraska’s swing 2nd Congressional District.

The district went to President Joe Biden by 22,091 votes in 2020, Trump by 6,534 votes in 2016, U.S. Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, by 19,087 votes in 2012 and President Barack Obama by 3,370 in 2008 (the first time the state divided its electoral votes to a Democrat).

Nebraska and Maine are the only two states to divide electors by the winner of the popular vote statewide (two votes) and the winner of each of the state’s congressional districts. Nebraska has three congressional districts.

The confirmed candidates for president and vice president on Nebraska’s ballot are:

Republican Party — former President Donald J. Trump (president) and U.S. Sen. J.D. Vance, R-Ohio (vice president).

Democratic Party — Vice President Kamala Harris (president) and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (vice president).

Libertarian Party — Chase Oliver (president) and Mike ter Maat (vice president).

Legal Marijuana NOW Party — Cornel West (president) and Melina Abdullah (vice president).

By petition — Jill Stein (president) and Samson Kpadenou (vice president). Stein successfully petitioned for Nebraska’s 2016 ballot.

Shiva Ayyadurai, an independent candidate who was born in India, also collected enough signatures to appear on the ballot. But Evnen rejected Ayyadurai’s filing because he is “undisputedly” not a natural-born citizen as required under the U.S. Constitution. Ayyadurai’s running mate, Crystal Ellis, is from Omaha.

Multiple candidates appearing on the ballot could stir a “spoiler,” or the siphoning of votes that could cut into razor-thin margins in close races. Nebraska voters will have the most options for president since 2008, which featured six candidates.

Barton said she had not yet seen enough data to know whether Stein or West could change a result, but she suspects not.

Nebraska Examiner political reporter Aaron Sanderford contributed to this report. This story was published by Nebraska Examiner, an editorially independent newsroom providing a hard-hitting, daily flow of news. Read the original article: https://nebraskaexaminer.com/briefs/rfk-jr-withdraws-from-nebraskas-pres...