The more Americans see of the Harris-Walz ticket, the less they like it.
Their poll numbers continue to decline, and Democrats are trying to change the odds in key swing stares by adding or restricting third party candidates on the ballot.
Last month former independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced at a Phoenix, Arizona event that he was suspending his campaign and would remove his name from ballots in battleground states, to prevent being a "spoiler" to GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump.
Prior to endorsing Trump, Kennedy would likely have pulled more votes from Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris. Since his endorsement it’s generally thought he would take more from former President Trump.
True to his word, Kennedy successfully removed his name from at least 10 states as of Wednesday, including four that are generally perceived to be swing or battleground states: Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, and Pennsylvania.
However, Democrats in other swing states are fighting to keep his name on the ballot, hoping to pull votes away from Trump.
In Wisconsin, Kennedy filed a lawsuit after the state elections commission voted to keep his name on the November ballot.
"The only way he gets to not be on the ballot is if he up and dies, which I'm assuming he has no plans of doing," said commission chairwoman Ann Jacobs, a Democrat. “So he has to be put on the ballot.”
Kennedy’s lawsuit argues that the commission’s ruling violates the First Amendment and Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment.
His request was also denied in Michigan by Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, also a Democrat. Kennedy filed suit with the Michigan Court of Claims and Judge Christopher P. Yates ruled in favor of the secretary of state Tuesday.
Yates was initially appointed to the bench by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, D-Mich.
Meanwhile Kennedy filed another lawsuit to be removed from the North Carolina ballot after the state elections commission denied Kennedy’s request for removal in a 3-2 vote. The commission’s two Republicans voted to remove his name; the three Democrats voted to keep him on.
Elections officials "have no compelling reason to justify forcing Kennedy to stay on the ballot," the lawsuit states. "To the extent their 'practicality' test is grounded in the cost and time needed to print correct ballots, this is an issue of Defendants’ own making."
In an interesting side-note, Kennedy had to file a lawsuit to have his name placed on the ballot before he endorsed Trump and his candidacy was perceived as a spoiler to the Trump-Vance campaign.
In the meantime, another third-party candidate — ultra-liberal activist and philosopher Cornel West — is having the exact opposite problem — getting on the ballot in battleground states.
After being denied in Arizona, he said he would run as a write-in candidate and called for an inquiry on the issue.
Last week Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court Judge Renee Cohn Jubelirer agreed with the secretary of state in a 15-page opinion that West failed to qualify for the Keystone State’s presidential ballot.
West’s single bright spot was Michigan.
Last week the state Court of Appeals ruled that the independent presidential candidate may appear on the November ballot.
This was an appeal from a Michigan Court of Claims decision.
All three of these states — Arizona, Pennsylvania, and Michigan — are important swing states. Although he would have no chance of winning any of them, or any other states electoral votes in November, West would likely pull votes from the Harris-Walz camp.
He could take enough votes from them to hand the state to the Trump-Vance team.
Democrats always claim to champion the ideals of democracy — let everyone participate and may the best person win. But they add a caveat: Only allow those who help their side be the participants.
When their backs are against the wall, all they have left is election interference.
Michael Dorstewitz is a retired lawyer and has been a frequent contributor to Newsmax. He is also a former U.S. Merchant Marine officer and an enthusiastic Second Amendment supporter. Read Michael Dorstewitz's Reports — More Here.
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