Former Bill Clinton pollster Mark Penn criticized Democrats on Friday for trying to thwart former independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy’s efforts to get on the ballot before he endorsed former President Donald Trump.
Kennedy announced he was suspending his presidential campaign on Aug. 23 and endorsed Trump. He has since sought to remove his name from several state ballots. Penn said that Democrats initially had tried to keep Kennedy off ballots but are now trying to keep him on to pull support away from the former president.
“I think some of these things that we have seen where people have tried to knock off people from the ballot unfairly, or now they are even trying to keep RFK on the ballot when he asked to be withdrawn because it’s to one partisan advantage,” Mark Penn told “Your World” guest host Charles Payne.
Democrats initially fought to keep Kennedy off the ballot prior to President Joe Biden announcing he would end his reelection bid, and polls showed that Kennedy hurt Biden in crucial swing states.
Kennedy won appeals Friday to have his name removed from the ballot in North Carolina and Michigan, two states that went for former President Donald Trump in 2016. According to RealClearPolling, Harris holds a lead of 1.1% in Michigan, while Trump holds a 0.7% lead in North Carolina.
According to the RealClearPolling average of polls before he announced the suspension of his campaign, Kennedy received 5% support in a five-way race with Trump, Vice President Kamala Harris, Green Party candidate Dr. Jill Stein, and independent candidate Cornel West.
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First published by the Daily Caller News Foundation.