Cornel West to announce VP pick on Tavis Smiley show Wednesday

Independent presidential candidate Cornel West will announce his vice presidential running mate on Tavis Smiley’s radio program Wednesday, according to his campaign.

On the show, slated to air at noon ET, West will discuss why his West Coast-based vice presidential pick – who, like him, has never held elected office – best aligns with his values, according to a campaign official. He will be joined on the show with his running mate.

They will also appear jointly at a rally in the Astoria neighborhood of Queens in New York later this month.

“On Wednesday, we will joyfully open a new chapter in this ‘moment in a movement,’ by announcing a committed candidate for Vice President who stands in solidarity with poor, oppressed and forgotten people everywhere,” West said in a statement.

Like fellow independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., West needs to announce a running mate so that he can compete to get on ballots across the country in earnest.

The campaign said it is currently on the ballot in Alaska, Oregon, South Carolina and Utah. In Utah, he will run as an independent. In the other three states, West will be connected to minor parties.

West had initially announced that he would run for the Green Party’s 2024 nomination last year, but abandoned that campaign amid criticism from some leading leftists.

The campaign said it plans to work to get on the ballot in New York, where they have a strong organization and dedicated volunteers, over the next few weeks.

“I think it’s highly likely that we’ll come out on the ballot in New York,” a spokesperson for West said.

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