The next major front of a rapidly changing election cycle could begin on Friday, as Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s expected withdrawal from the presidential race appears likely to benefit President Trump’s poll numbers. 

Mr. Kennedy’s departure from the race — which is expected to be announced during an event in Arizona — would give a boost for Trump as he faces off against Vice President Harris in the fall, several polls and strategists are forecasting. The independent candidate has faced financial issues and plummeting poll numbers since President Biden dropped out of the race in July.

“The RFK curiosity on the left is gone,” one political strategist, Sarah Longwell, put it, the Wall Street Journal reported. She said that the voters who are still backing Mr. Kennedy, despite Ms. Harris’s entrance in the race, are “Trumpy people, and so he will pick up those voters” if Mr. Kennedy withdraws. 

Another political strategist, Karl Rove, says that Mr. Kennedy’s departure could help Mr. Trump — at least slightly — in the battleground states of Georgia and Arizona.

“My gut tells me it probably helps Donald Trump, because the people who were for him because he was a Kennedy, I think they began leaving after Joe Biden pulled out on the 21st, so a small amount of help,” Mr. Rove told Fox News. 

Several polls indicate the same: The Wall Street Journal’s numbers indicate that Ms. Harris’ 1-point lead would turn into a 2-point deficit if Mr. Kennedy is not in the race. The polling indicated that with Mr. Kennedy and other independents out of the race, half of voters supporting them would back Trump compared to a fourth supporting Ms. Harris. 

A Washington Post analysis earlier this month — citing multiple polls that tested a Trump-Harris race compared to a race that included independent candidates —  declared that “it’s safe to say third-party candidates are now hurting Trump more.” It found that Mr. Kennedy was pulling “significantly” more votes away from Trump than he was from Ms. Harris, and that Ms. Harris leads by an average of 3.3 points with independents on the ticket, compared to 1.5 points without independents. 

Other polling, though, suggests that Mr. Kennedy’s exit could boost Ms. Harris, at least in some states. An AARP poll in Michigan, for one, found that while the candidates were tied at 48 percent in a head-to-head race, in a matchup that includes third-party candidates, Mr. Trump had a 2-point lead over Ms. Harris. 

Trump, for his part, has said he would be “honored” to have Mr. Kennedy’s endorsement. “He is a very good person. If he endorsed me, I would be honored by it. I would be very honored by it,” Trump said on “Fox & Friends” on Thursday. “He really has his heart in the right place. He is a respected person.” 

Trump has also indicated that he would be “open” to Mr. Kennedy serving a role in his administration if he wins in November. 

The Sun reached out to the Kennedy campaign for comment.