AUGUSTA, Maine — Independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. no longer faces an attempt to disqualify him from the Maine ballot, after a challenger withdrew allegations of petition and residency issues.
James Stretch, whose experience in Democratic politics includes working for President Joe Biden’s campaign in 2020, informed Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows on Monday that he was withdrawing his challenge to Kennedy’s petition to appear on the November ballot. Bellows, a Democrat, dismissed the challenge Tuesday.
Stretch did not provide a reason for the withdrawal. His attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday.
The withdrawal came amid a New York judge ruling Monday that Kennedy should not appear on that state’s ballot due to him living in California but falsely claiming on his petition to reside in New York. Stretch made a similar argument in his request to disqualify Kennedy here.
Bellows is still set to hear two separate challenges Thursday to independent candidate Cornel West’s candidacy. The requests from several Maine residents to disqualify West and Kennedy essentially argued the campaigns failed to follow state law and submit petitions with between 4,000 and 5,000 valid signatures from registered Maine voters.
Kennedy, the son of ex-Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy and nephew of former President John F. Kennedy, is an environmental attorney known for his anti-vaccine views. West is a scholar and progressive activist who previously taught at Princeton and Harvard.
