RALEIGH, NC (WTVD) – Following Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s decision to suspend his presidential campaign on Friday and instead support former President Donald Trump, many questions remained unanswered for voters in North Carolina.

The North Carolina State Board of Elections (NCBOE) said Kennedy was nominated by the We The People Party as that party’s presidential candidate for the ballot and that the party had not informed the board of plans to change its nomination.

If the We the People party decides to officially withdraw Kennedy’s nomination, the NCBOE said it would have to consider whether it would be practical to remove the withdrawal from the ballots and reprint the ballots.

Currently, nearly 30 of 100 counties in North Carolina have begun printing ballots, according to the panel.

Kennedy began his campaign for the White House in April 2023 as a Democrat to challenge President Joe Biden, but months later withdrew from his candidacy and the party that has symbolized his family for decades to chart a new course as an independent. He named Nicole Shanahan, a Silicon Valley lawyer, as his running mate.

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He announced his decision at an event in Arizona on Friday, urging voters in Republican and Democratic states to vote for him, but announcing that he would withdraw from the ballot in swing states where he could act as a “spoiler.”

He endorsed Trump on Friday, a late shakeup in the race that could give the former president backing from Kennedy supporters.

Hours later, Kennedy joined Trump on stage at a rally in Arizona, where the crowd erupted in cheers of “Bobby!”

Kennedy cited freedom of speech, the war in Ukraine and “a war against our children” as reasons why he would try to remove his name from the ballot in swing states.

“These are the main reasons that led me to leave the Democratic Party, run as an independent and now support President Trump,” Kennedy said at his event in Phoenix.

Kennedy said his actions were the result of conversations with Trump in recent weeks. He described their alliance as a “unity party,” an agreement that “allows us to disagree publicly and privately and seriously.” Kennedy suggested Trump had offered him a job if he returned to the White House, but neither he nor Trump provided details.

Kennedy’s running mate Nicole Shanahan this week toyed with the idea that Kennedy could join Trump’s administration as health secretary.

Kennedy later joined Trump on stage at a rally in Glendale co-hosted with Turning Point Action, where Trump’s campaign had indicated he would be joined by “a special guest.”

Kennedy was greeted with thunderous applause as he took the stage to the Foo Fighters and fireworks after Trump introduced him as “a man who was an incredible champion of so many of these values ​​that we all share.”

“We are both here to do what is right for the country,” Trump said, later praising Kennedy for “addressing critical issues that have been ignored for too long in this country.”

With Kennedy standing nearby, Trump invoked his assassinated uncle and father, John F. Kennedy and Robert F. Kennedy, saying he knew “that they are looking down on us at this moment and they are very, very proud.”
He said that if he wins the election this fall, he will set up a new independent presidential commission to investigate assassination attempts, which will release all remaining documents related to the assassination of John F. Kennedy.

And he reiterated his promise to set up a commission – “in collaboration with Bobby” – to investigate the rise in chronic conditions and childhood diseases, including autoimmune diseases, autism, obesity and infertility.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

The video presented comes from an earlier report