GOP Operatives Working To Put Cornel West On Swing-State Ballots

At a time when leftists across America are increasingly disenchanted with President Biden, Republican operatives are quietly working to give them an alternative — by gathering signatures necessary to ensure that firebrand independent candidate Cornel West is on the ballot in swing states, according to reporting by NBC News. 

A stylized image of Cornel West from his campaign website 

In an election year in which non-major-party candidates — led by independent Robert F. Kennedy, Jr — are poised to take the largest share of the presidential vote in years, the effort is clearly intended to siphon off some leftists who might otherwise reluctantly vote for Biden — or his replacement. In a close race, even a nominally-modest number could have a major impact. 

West, a former Harvard professor now teaching philosophy and Christian practice at Union Theological Seminary, is known for directing his sharp oratory against US foreign policy, including Washington’s blind support for the State of Israel. With many key Democratic constituencies outraged by the Biden administration’s arming and equipping of Israel’s war on Gaza, West stands as a natural protest vote. In that way, he starkly contrasts with Kennedy, whose rhetoric on the Gaza war is even more pro-Israel than Biden’s. 

PREACH, @CornelWest. 👏 ♥️ 🔥

“We don’t hate Jewish Brothers.

We don’t hate Jewish Sisters.

We don’t hate Jewish Siblings.

We loathe— we hate— a vicious Israeli occupation.

We loathe and we hate a vicious siege against Gaza.”

pic.twitter.com/zlDmqaFvdi

— James Foster (@JamesEFoster) November 12, 2023

So far, NBC has detected GOP-linked organizations working to qualify West for ballot access in Arizona and North Carolina. Arizona, which Biden officially won by only 10,457 votes in 2020, requires paid and out-of-state petition workers to register with the secretary of state. A dozen paid workers have indicated they were hired by a GOP-leaning firm to collect signatures for Cornel West. Hilariously, some misspelled “their” candidate’s name on their registrations forms, writing “Carnel west” or “Cornelle West.” 

The signatures aren’t only being solicited from leftists: 

In North Carolina…a prominent Republican activist was spotted in April outside a Trump rally gathering signatures for West, telling rallygoers it “helps take away votes from Joe Biden.” — NBC News

Trump: Cornel West, he’s one of my favorite candidates. Cornel West and I like her also, Jill Stein, I like her very much. You know why? She takes 100% from them. He takes 100% pic.twitter.com/l6k4cugvXo

— Acyn (@Acyn) June 22, 2024

The West campaign denies that it’s in cahoots with the shadowy Republicans. “The Democratic Party & the mainstream media are fabricating stories about us having ties to GOP operatives. False!” spokesman Edwin DeJesus told NBC News. “We’re not hiring Republicans or Democrats. This is a clear smear because we’re championing workers, while they protect the interests of the wealthy elite.”

However, emails obtained by NBC News show that the West-backing Justice for All Party named three people who were authorized to pick up and drop off signatures in North Carolina, and all three either work now or have in the past worked for a GOP-serving polling firm from Colorado called Blitz Canvassing. 

“There’s concrete evidence — not rumors, but evidence — in North Carolina and in other states of an organized Republican effort to get Cornel West on ballots, using Republican consultants and vendors that the West campaign is not paying for,” complained Pete Kavanaugh, who launched a Democratic super PAC to thwart third-party candidates…because saving Our Democracy apparently depends on limiting the choices. 

Even if Biden is replaced, West would likely have a nearly-identical impact in November. In December 2023, West predicted that Biden wouldn’t make it to the general election. “I’m not even sure whether I’ll be running against Biden,” West told Politico. “Biden — I think he’s going to have an LBJ moment [and] pull back…He’s running out of gas.”