Republican Operatives Help Kanye West Get on 2020 Ballots in Apparent Attempt to Thwart Biden
Kanye West’s presidential candidacy has started to pick up speed with help from Republican party campaign operatives attempting to place West’s name on the ballot in numerous states like Wisconsin, Ohio, and Colorado, CNN and The New York Times report. West hinted to a reporter today that the campaign is running with the intention to hurt Joe Biden’s chances at winning the election. West later tweeted “THE GOAL IS TO WIN.”
According to The Times, Lane Ruhland—a lawyer who has worked for the Trump campaign and the Wisconsin Republican Party—delivered ballot signatures to Wisconsin elections officials on behalf of the West campaign on Tuesday. “It appears that the Kanye West campaign made a smart decision by hiring an experienced election attorney,” Alesha Guenther, the Wisconsin Republican Party’s spokesperson, told CNN. “We welcome Kanye West and all other candidates who qualified for ballot access to the race, and look forward to delivering Wisconsin’s 10 electoral votes to President Trump.”
Mark Jacoby, a Republican and executive at a company called Let the Voters Decide, has reportedly collected signatures for West in Ohio, West Virginia, and Arkansas. The campaign also reportedly has ties to Chuck Wilton, a Vermont convention delegate for Trump, and Gregg Keller, who was once considered to be Trump’s campaign manager in 2015.
In an interview with Forbes’ Randall Lane via text message on Thursday, West was asked about his goals for running and implied that he was intentionally trying to spoil the election for Joe Biden. Lane pointed out to West that a presidential win is mathematically impossible given that he won’t appear on many states’ ballots. When asked if he was intentionally trying to hurt Biden, West responded, “I’m not going to argue with you. Jesus is King.” When Lane asked about if he was trying to do damage to Biden’s election numbers, West said, “I’m not denying it; I just told you.”
On Wednesday, President Donald Trump said at the White House, “I like Kanye very much. I have nothing to do with him being on the ballot. I’m not involved.” Kanye has recently distanced himself from Trump in interviews and public statements. “I am taking the red hat off, with this interview,” he told Forbes. He also offered some praise for the president. “Trump is the closest president we’ve had in years to allowing God to still be part of the conversation.”
Kanye held a public campaign event in South Carolina earlier this year; he will not be on that state’s ballot after missing the filing deadline. Following a series of tweets revealing upheaval in his personal life, his wife Kim Kardashian West shared a statement about Kanye’s mental health.
Originally Appeared on Pitchfork
