GOP vice presidential nominee JD Vance says it’s “ridiculous” Robbery F. Kennedy Jr. will remain on the Wisconsin ballot in November — even though state law doesn’t provide a way to meet his request to be left off.
During a stop in De Pere yesterday, Vance said “a bunch of bureaucrats are going to keep his name on the ballot because they think it’ll hurt Donald Trump.”
“I think we are going to win Wisconsin anyway, and we are going to fight for every single vote,” Vance said.
Kennedy dropped out of the race last week and endorsed Trump. He also sent the state Elections Commission a letter asking to be left off the Wisconsin ballot after he turned in nomination papers earlier this month in his bid to be included. Agency staff noted there was no mechanism in state law that would allow Kennedy to withdraw his nomination papers after submitting them to the commission.
During the Elections Commission meeting Tuesday, GOP appointees originally pushed to fulfill Kennedy’s request despite Dem objections that such a move wasn’t allowed under state law. But after the commission deadlocked 3-3 on that motion, two GOP appointees joined the three Dems in voting 5-1 to put him on the ballot.
During last night’s appearance, Vance added he is “thrilled” to have the endorsement of Kennedy and former U.S. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard, D-Hawaii.
Vance took questions from reporters and knocked Harris’ policies on America’s opioid crisis. Vance said Harris wants to let Mexican drug cartels do “whatever they want and go to war against American law enforcement.”
“I think we ought to empower American law enforcement and go to war against the Mexican drug cartels,” Vance said.
Vance added he wants to crack down on Chinese manufacturing of fentanyl, which he said is being sent to the U.S. Vance said Trump was on the cusp of striking a deal to shut down fentanyl manufacturing in China at the end of his presidency.
“And Kamala Harris let that languish,” Vance said. “Instead of fighting for Americans, she continued to allow the Communist Chinese to make this garbage.”
Ahead of Vance’s speech, Harris’ Wisconsin campaign released a statement knocking Vance for making no mention of his plan to help Wisconsinites during his appearance on the Dan O’Donnell Show earlier yesterday.
“When your only plan for the people of Wisconsin is raising middle class taxes by $3,900 a year, cutting Social Security and Medicare, and ripping away reproductive freedom, it’s no wonder JD Vance doesn’t want to talk about his own agenda,” Wisconsin Democratic Coordinated Campaign Rapid Response Director Kristi Johnston said in the statement.
It was Vance’s fourth trip to Wisconsin since he was formally nominated for vice president at the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee last month.
Trump will be in La Crosse this evening for a town hall meeting, his first visit to the state since the convention.
