BREAKING: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Withdraws From The Arizona Ballot As Expected End Of Presidential Bid Looms

On Thursday evening, independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.'s campaign submitted paperwork to withdraw from the ballot in Arizona in anticipation of his likely exit from the race during a rally in the Copper State on Friday. Kennedy, his running mate Nicole Shanahan, and 11 of his presidential electors voluntarily withdrew from the Arizona ballot in paperwork submitted to the Arizona Secretary of State's office. The election official confirmed that the Kennedy campaign withdrew from the 2024 ballot in a post on X on Friday morning.

RFK Jr.'s decision to end his bid in the swing state comes as he has reportedly been in discussions with the Trump campaign over the past couple of weeks about his dropout from the race and his endorsement of the Republican candidate. Kennedy began discussing his exit from the race with Team Trump a week before the Republican National Convention after Kennedy donor Omeed Malik connected the two campaigns. Discussions between RFK Jr. and President Trump ramped up after President Joe Biden exited the presidential race a month ago. Following Harris' entry into the race, Kennedy saw his standing in the polls drop considerably. Despite attempts to meet with the Harris campaign, the Democratic candidate's team rejected any attempts for the two to meet.

Combined with the refusal to meet and the fact that Democrats have sued the Kennedy campaign across the country as he tries to get on the ballot, RFK Jr. has turned on the idea of backing Harris and has become increasingly more open to endorsing President Trump. "He just wanted to have a conversation. He was willing to sit down and talk, but he was rebuffed," a Kennedy campaign source explained. "We were supposed to be at the DNC talking about prison reform, and instead, he has to testify in a court case." 

"Democrats spent over $100 million [on lawsuits] to keep him off the ballot… these are anti-democratic people. That's the high-level motivation," the Team Kennedy source told The New York Post. "They've spent money to not only get him off the ballot but keep him tied up in court… it's politicization and weaponization of the court."

The Kennedy campaign source explained that President Trump had been respectful to Kennedy throughout their conversations and that Trump's public calls to get the independent candidate Secret Service protection were appreciated. A Kennedy endorsement of Trump could go a long way in shifting the race just enough to get Trump over the edge in several swing states. According to FiveThirtyEight, Kennedy has the support of 4.7 percent of the electorate nationally, which could be enough to help Trump get to 270 electoral votes in November.

The independent candidate will hold an address for the nation in Phoenix, Arizona, on Friday. President Trump will also have a rally in Phoenix on Friday, leaving some to speculate that RFK Jr. may join the 45th president at the event to give a full-throated endorsement of the Republican candidate. "Independent Presidential Candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will address the nation live on Friday about the present historical moment and his path forward," the Kennedy campaign event's announcement page reads. The event's location has yet to be determined, but it will begin at 2 PM EST and be live-streamed on social media.

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