Kanye West’s US presidential election candidacy dismissed as a gimmick – ‘more of a blip than a spoiler’
- When Kanye West announced his candidacy for the US presidential election, some thought he could affect the result in closely contested states
- After holding only one rally and selling campaign merchandise online, the impact of West, a former Trump supporter, seems likely to be minimal
Kanye West roared onto the political stage in July with his bid for the presidency of the United States, prompting speculation the famous rap musician could pull enough votes from Democratic nominee Joe Biden to tip a close contest with President Donald Trump.
Now, despite his global star power, West is looking more like a blip in the race than a spoiler, weeks before the November 3 election.
West was never seen as a serious contender. Aided by Republican operatives, he got on the ballot in just a dozen states, not enough to compete in the Electoral College. The celebrity may draw some votes from Biden, who enjoys overwhelming support from black voters, but his impact looks to be limited.
We take any candidate on the ballot seriously until we don’t need to, and at this point, I would say we definitely do not need to take Kanye West seriously
Even so, outside candidates can nibble at the edges in a close election. In Michigan, for example, Libertarian Gary Johnson and Jill Stein, with the Green Party, won a combined 223,599 votes in 2016 in a state Trump beat Democrat Hillary Clinton by just 10,704 votes.