Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s brief flirtation with the highest office in the land ended abruptly. In a surprising twist, Kennedy, who had initially cleared the hurdles to appear on Ohio's ballot for the presidential race, has formally suspended his campaign. The Ohio Secretary of State, Frank LaRose, confirmed this change of events, noting that, earlier in the day, his office had certified Kennedy's candidacy before he chose to suspend his run and endorse Donald Trump, as reported by cleveland.com.

After once aiming to establish a presence in every state, Kennedy's campaign faced a new dilemma, working to remove his name from several state ballots systematically. This challenge was quite unexpected, given that Kennedy had just succeeded in meeting the stringent requirements for ballot inclusion in Ohio. He expressed intentions to withdraw from about "10 battleground states where my presence would be a spoiler," having already begun the process. Kennedy explained to NPR that this was clearly aimed at avoiding inadvertently undermining Trump's chances of victory.

Even if Kennedy's campaign had been proactive in Ohio, where the Secretary of State's office verified the withdrawal, the situation was not as straightforward in other states. Election officials in Michigan, Nevada, and Wisconsin indicated the deadline to withdraw from the November ballot had passed. Consequently, Kennedy's name will remain on the ballot there, potentially posing a risk to Trump's performance in these pivotal states. The candidate's campaign relayed to the Associated Press that his name would remain on the ballot in certain states to avoid damaging Trump's electoral prospects.

Kennedy's rise and fall is not without its backstory. He entered the 2024 presidential race as a Democrat but later parted ways with the party to run independently. As detailed by ideastream.org, his campaign managed to build "an unusually strong base for a third-party bid," propelled by anti-establishment voters and vaccine skeptics. However, his efforts were eventually marred by financial strains and legal complications, causing the campaign to shift focus and potentially inadvertently influence the presidential race in an entirely different manner than originally intended.