Judge denies man’s request to exclude Robert F. Kennedy Jr. from New Jersey’s ballot

A New Jersey judge has rejected a request to block Robert F. Kennedy Jr. from running for president under the state’s sore loser law. Judge Robert Lougy dismissed the case brought by attorney Scott Salmon, who was attempting to prevent Kennedy from appearing on the presidential ballot as an independent on November 5. Lougy indicated that Salmon could still bring concerns to Secretary of State Tahesha Way, the state’s top elections official, despite the dismissal of the case.

Salmon, who previously filed a lawsuit in 2020 regarding Kanye West’s presidential candidacy, alleged that West had not gathered a sufficient number of signatures. Kennedy’s campaign, as well as Salmon, did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The famous name of Kennedy, along with his loyal support base, has boosted his presidential aspirations, potentially setting him up to outperform other independent candidates in recent history.

Both major party strategists are concerned that Kennedy’s candidacy could impact the chances of their own candidates in the election. Salmon had attempted to bar Kennedy from the ballot as an independent by invoking a state law that prohibits candidates who ran for a major party nomination in a primary from later running for the same office as an independent. This law, commonly known as a sore loser law, was the basis of Salmon’s argument, as Kennedy initially registered as a Democrat with the Federal Election Commission in April 2023 before amending his filing in October to pursue an independent bid.

Kennedy contended that Salmon lacked the standing to file the lawsuit since Salmon was not a presidential candidate himself, among other legal arguments.