Will Robert F. Kennedy Jr. still appear on the ballot in North Carolina? What happens next?

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- North Carolina voters were left with questions following Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s decision to suspend his presidential campaign on Friday and instead support former President Donald Trump.

The North Carolina Board of Elections (NCBOE) said that Kennedy was nominated by the We The People Party as that party's presidential candidate to be listed on the ballot, and the party hasn't informed the board of any plans to change its nomination.

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

Currently, the board said almost 30 of 100 counties have begun printing ballots in North Carolina.

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

RELATED | North Carolina Democrats sue to reverse decision that put RFK Jr. on ballot

On Friday, he announced at an event in Arizona, during which he encouraged voters in red or blue states to vote for him but said he would remove himself from the ballot in battleground states where he could act as a "spoiler."

He endorsed Trump on Friday, a late-stage shakeup of the race that could give the former president a boost from Kennedy's supporters.

Hours later, Kennedy joined Trump onstage at an Arizona rally, where the crowd burst into "Bobby!" cheers.

Kennedy cited free speech, the war in Ukraine, and "a war on our children" as among the reasons he would try to remove his name from the ballot in battleground states.

"These are the principal causes that persuaded me to leave the Democratic Party and run as an independent, and now to throw my support to President Trump," Kennedy said at his event in Phoenix.

Kennedy said his actions followed conversations with Trump during the past few weeks. He cast their alliance as "a unity party," an arrangement that would "allow us to disagree publicly and privately and seriously." Kennedy suggested Trump offered him a job if he returned to the White House, but neither he nor Trump offered details.

Kennedy's running mate, Nicole Shanahan, this week entertained the idea that Kennedy could join Trump's administration as secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services.

Kennedy later joined Trump onstage at a rally co-hosted by Turning Point Action in Glendale, where Trump's campaign had teased he would be joined by "a special guest."

Kennedy was greeted by thundering applause as he took the stage to the Foo Fighters and a pyrotechnics display after being introduced by Trump as "a man who has been an incredible champion for so many of these values that we all share."

"We are both in this to do what's right for the country," Trump said, later commending Kennedy for having "raised critical issues that have been too long ignored in this country."

With Kennedy standing nearby, Trump invoked his slain uncle and father, John F. Kennedy and Robert F. Kennedy, saying he knows "that they are looking down right now and they are very, very proud."
He said that, if he won this fall, he would establish a new independent presidential commission on assassination attempts that would release all remaining documents related to John F. Kennedy's assassination.

And he repeated his pledge to establish a panel - "working with Bobby" - to investigate the increase in chronic health conditions and childhood diseases, including autoimmune disorders, autism, obesity and infertility.

The Associated Press contributed.

Featured video is from a previous report