JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Following the withdrawal of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. last week from the presidential election there are still potential impacts on the race from third-party candidates. One who political experts are monitoring is Green Party candidate Jill Stein.
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Let’s start with Kennedy, on Friday the insurgent third-party former Democrat dropped out and endorsed Trump. He’s withdrawing from any state ballot where his candidacy would have hurt Trump.
“We all knew which states they were,” Kennedy said on Fox News Sunday. “Basically 10 swing states where my presence in the race would have helped Vice President Harris.”
Now there’s the Jill Stein factor. When News4JAX covered the Democratic National Convention last week, the crew saw signs on the outer perimeter for the little-known Green Party candidate Stein.
In 2016, many political observers believe she cost Hillary Clinton the state of Wisconsin getting 31,072 votes. Greater than the difference between Trump and Hillary which was just under 23,000.
Stein wasn’t on the ballot in these states in 2020 but is on four swing state ballots this cycle. Wisconsin, Michigan, North Carolina, and Arizona.
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“In general they don’t change the trajectory of the race but they can have an impact on the race because of swing states and close votes in swing states,” said News4Jax Political Analyst Rick Mullaney of third-party candidates.
It’s not just Green Party candidate Jill Stein, the Libertarian Party always consistently gets thousands of votes in states across the country.
Historically, Libertarian candidates tend to take more votes from Republicans. Let’s look at Georgia which was razor-thin in 2020. Joe Biden won Georgia by 11,779 votes. But the Libertarian candidate that same cycle got more than 62,000 votes.
“The Libertarian could draw more from the Republican side so it’s hard to say but one thing is clear, it can impact the race in swing states where there are close margins,” said Mullaney.
And the Stein issue is big in the state of Michigan because she has been a staunch supporter of the Palestinian cause which is huge in Michigan. In April, Stein was even arrested at a Pro-Palestinian protest in Missouri.
And the Wisconsin-born Stein also had a political victory yesterday getting on the state’s ballot after securing a victory in the State Supreme Court.