Mark Cuban says he co-financed RFK Jr.'s legal battle for presidential candidacy

Mark Cuban said he helped independent candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. get on the ballot in North Carolina by donating to the Center for Competitive Democracy, an organization that supports political candidates outside the two-party system.

On Monday, Cuban wrote on X, formerly Twitter: “Do you know who helped pay for the lawsuit that put RFK Jr. and Cornel West on the ballot in North Carolina? Me. I help fund Voter Choice. I'm not a fan of the two-party system and Voter Choice helps get candidates on the ballot. And we're good at it. His NC organization reached out to us. We helped. There was no cost to them. So I don't mind that he can't be removed from the ballot.”

The Center for Competitive Democracy confirmed in an email statement to Newsweek this Cuban is a donor.

The organization represented Kennedy Jr.'s We The People party as well as the Justice for All party, which had nominated Dr. Cornel West as its presidential candidate, in a court case that ended in their favor and decided that they should be placed on the ballot in North Carolina.

However, Kennedy Jr. withdrew from the presidential race on August 23 and filed a lawsuit on August 30 after the North Carolina State Board of Elections refused to remove him from the ballot, arguing that it would be impractical because many of them had already been printed, according to the local newspaper. The News & Observer reported.

Cuban responded to a post about Kennedy Jr.'s recent lawsuit. He followed up with several more posts saying Kennedy Jr. should have “dropped out sooner” if he didn't want to be on the ballot, and pointing out that Kennedy Jr. resigned a week after winning North Carolina so he could be on the ballot.

In another response, Cuban wrote, “I don't give money to PACs, candidates, or parties. I give money to organizations that help candidates get on the ballot to compete with the two major parties. I've been doing that for YEARS.”

Kennedy Jr. expressed support in his speech following Donald Trump’s resignation. Newsweek It had previously been reported that Trump was willing to give him a role in his administration if he won the election in November.

According to the BBC, some experts have argued that Kennedy Jr.'s withdrawal from the presidential race could benefit Trump, but others argue the opposite.

Newsweek has reached out to RFK Jr. and Mark Cuban’s office for comment.

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