Kanye West Presidential Bid Continues To Move Ahead In Fits And Starts
Kanye West will be subject to a vote in Minnesota and Tennessee in the upcoming election, but the rapper missed the deadline in Wisconsin. Missouri said there over 3,400 valid signatures missing in his petition, but he has gone to court as a last attempt to get on the ballot in Ohio, which is touted as a swing state.
On top of that, West has passed the first deadline to disclose to federal regulators how he will be using the campaign money and has held only one campaign rally until now. Much to his relief, he can still qualify for the ballot in Arizona, one of the last remaining presidential battlegrounds.
Currently gathering signatures, the West campaign is leaving no stone unturned in a bid to ensure he qualifies for the ballot in the state. With Election Day about more than just two months away, West's presidential bid is moving ahead sporadically, while dodging questions about his mental health, and campaign's tactics.
Moreover, West's controversy plagued presidential bid is widely seen as a deceitful attempt by Republican operatives to cash in on his stardom. The rapper-producer is likely to garner massive support from Black voters that would otherwise consider supporting Joe Biden.
West, 43, and his running mate Michelle Tidball has a slim chance of winning the White House. He has been able to make it onto the ballot in only nine states, where 64 electoral votes are up for the grabs, but it is still short of the 270 votes needed for the presidency.
This hasn't stopped the music and fashion mogul from persisting in his quest to place an independent bid that seems to be receiving support from Republican figures, including some of Donald Trump's aides. Curt Hartman, a lawyer from Cincinnati represents West in the lawsuit his campaign filed to get on the Ohio ballot.
Hartman, who served as a delegate to the Republican National Convention in 2016, is also the Republican nominee for a county judicial seat. Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose has established that West's statement of candidacy and nominating petition didn't coincide with the petitions that were signed by voters, CNN reported.
While state officials continue to disregard West's attempts to get on the ballot, West's campaign is pushing for ballot access. In presidential battleground, Arizona, candidates need to qualify the ballot before the Sept. 4 deadline.
Keeping in line with that, West campaign's signature collector met students on the Arizona State University campus this week. In an interview with CNN, one student described one worker as deceitful when asked about the identity of the candidate.