Kennedy Jr. to stay on Colorado ballot despite pulling out of presidential race

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will remain on the presidential ballot in Colorado, despite informally suspending his campaign last week and endorsing former President Donald Trump.

“We are not withdrawing in Colorado. Mr. Kennedy has encouraged all of his supporters to vote for him in CO!” representatives from Kennedy’s campaign wrote in a Tuesday afternoon email to the secretary of state’s office, as first reported by The Colorado Sun.

The office had emailed Kennedy’s campaign earlier in the day to ask whether they planned to withdraw from the state’s ballot.

Kennedy qualified to appear on Colorado’s ballot as an independent candidate on Aug. 1. Last week, however, he suspended his campaign after saying he did not see a path to victory. He said he would remove his name from about 10 swing states where his candidacy might sway the outcome in Trump’s disfavor.

But that won’t include Colorado, which has voted for the Democratic presidential nominee since 2008.

“I think this is a good tactical decision, as there may be folks who would vote for (Vice President Kamala) Harris who will now pull the lever for RFK. Colorado Republicans remain thrilled that he endorsed our candidate, President Trump,” Eli Bremer, who was selected by members of the Colorado GOP central committee as the party’s new chair over the weekend, wrote in a text.

Shad Murib, the Colorado Democratic Chair, said that he was “glad that RFK Jr. has finally acknowledged that a vote for him is a vote thrown away.”

“That was always the case, but I can see how it took him a while to get there in between auctioning off his endorsement and spreading strange conspiracy theories,” he wrote.

Kennedy has been criticized for spreading misinformation about vaccines.

A June 2024 poll showed Kennedy with about 12% of the Colorado vote. That same poll put Trump at 26% and President Joe Biden — who has since dropped out of the race and been replaced by Harris — at 42%.

Candidates have until Sept. 6 to withdraw their names from the Colorado ballot.

Editor’s note: This story first appeared on Colorado Newsline, which is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Colorado Newsline maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Quentin Young for questions: info@coloradonewsline.com. Follow Colorado Newsline on Facebook and X.