Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has successfully gathered sufficient signatures to secure a place on Maryland’s presidential ballot, according to state election officials. Despite previously suspending his independent campaign for the presidency and endorsing Republican nominee Donald Trump, Kennedy met the requirement of 10,000 signatures by having over 15,000 verified signatures, with supporters contributing more than 27,000. Even though Kennedy withdrew his national campaign, he will still be listed on the Maryland ballot. He has expressed intentions to have his name removed from battleground states but has not formally ended his bid; thus, supporters can continue to back him in states where their votes are less likely to impact the overall outcome.
Maryland is a strongly Democratic state where Democrats significantly outnumber Republicans by a ratio of 2-to-1. In the 2020 presidential election, Joe Biden, a Democrat, secured 65% of the vote in Maryland, compared to Trump’s 32%. Kennedy believed that his presence in the presidential race would negatively affect Trump and benefit Democratic nominee Kamala Harris, although recent public polling does not definitively show a significant influence on support for the major-party candidates.
