On June 14, 2023, West announced he would also seek the
Green Party's nomination in
their primaries.[7][8] On October 5, West announced he would instead be seeking to run an
Independent campaign and thus dropped out of the Green Party primaries, beginning the process for ballot access.[9]
On January 31, he created and ran with the "Justice for All Party".[10]
West has averaged in the mid-single digits in most general election polls,[13] and is widely considered to be a long-shot candidate.[14][15] Several Democratic analysts said that he could draw votes away from
Kamala Harris in a general election,[16] leading to concerns of
vote splitting.
West has held many professorships and fellowships, and has written books on these subjects such as Race Matters, and Democracy Matters. West is a self-described "non-
Marxistsocialist"[19][11] and an outspoken voice in
left-wing politics in the United States. West has dabbled in political activism in the past.
On June 5, 2023, West announced he was running for president on a
Rumble livestream hosted by comedian
Russell Brand.[28] Later that day, West posted a video to
Twitter announcing his run.[6][29]
People's Party
In his announcement video, West stated that "I have decided to run for truth and justice, which takes the form of running for president of the United States as a candidate for the People's Party. I enter for the quest for truth. I enter for the quest of justice. And the presidency is just one vehicle we pursue that truth and justice." He criticized both
major political parties for failing to "tell the truth about
Wall Street,
about Ukraine, about the
Pentagon, about
Big Tech."[6]
The
People's Party immediately endorsed his campaign upon launch, quote-tweeting his launch video and saying that West would "smash the war duopoly and abolish poverty".[30] Left-wing activists and streamers heavily criticized West for this choice of party.[31][32][33]
On June 21, West officially filed to run for president with the
FEC.[40] He later announced that Jill Stein, the Green Party's presidential nominee in
2012 and
2016, would be chairing his campaign.[41]
West filed his federally mandated
second quarter fundraising report on July 15, covering the nine days after filing to start his campaign. It showed that he had raised $71,398.08 and spent $2,784, leaving him with $68,613.45 on hand.[48]
There are tons of people, every two and four years who decide not to vote at all. And we know that the so called spoilers, which is a category I don't accept at all whether it be
Gary Johnson, sister Jill Stein or
Ralph Nader, many of those voters say they would never vote for the two parties at all. And I can understand, those politicians become too corrupt, too conformant, what about truth? What about justice? If you are concerned about truth and justice you cannot be complacent. Look at the world at the lens through those incarcerated, in the ghettos."[49]
In July 2023, Reform and Revolution, a Marxist caucus of the
Democratic Socialists of America, published opposing articles arguing for and against DSA supporting West's campaign, endorsing neither as an official caucus position.[50]
On October 5, 2023, West announced he was withdrawing his candidacy for the Green Party nomination and would instead run as an independent, beginning the process for attaining
ballot access.[53][54]
West's campaign released a statement explaining his rationale for making the switch, stating that West "believes the best way to challenge the entrenched system is by focusing 100% on the people, not on the intricacies of internal party dynamics".[53]
Establishing the Justice for All Party
On January 31, 2024, West announced via a video on
X that he was establishing a new party called "Justice for All". West said the party would start seeking ballot access in the states where it is the most expedient to attain it: Florida, North Carolina, and Washington. The campaign plans to get ballot access in the state of Florida through a nominating caucus.[10]
In mid-December 2023, West's campaign announced that he will appear on Alaska's ballot via the state's Aurora Party. West promised to fight the oil industry with a resource extraction lease moratorium to protect places like the
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), by canceling the Biden-approved
Willow Project pipeline, and to otherwise defend sovereign land rights.[69]
California
In December 2023, the California Secretary of State's office announced that West had qualified for the
Peace and Freedom Party's
primary ballot. [70][71]
West was one of three candidates vying for the nomination of the party, which held a non-binding preference primary on
Super Tuesday in March, prior to choosing its nominee at the party's convention to be held in August.[72] West lost to
Claudia De La Cruz by several percentage points.[73]
Oregon
On January 24, 2024, the
Oregon Progressive Party has secured ballot access in Oregon for the 2024 Presidential Election and nominated Cornel West in the Oregon ballot.
Colorado
The Colorado faction of the
Unity Party of America, which has the party's ballot access, met on April 13, 2024 and nominated independent Cornel West.[74][75]
West has described himself as a "non-
Marxist socialist" (partly because he does not view Marxism and Christianity as reconcilable)[76] and previously served as honorary chairman of the
Democratic Socialists of America, which he remains a member of and described as "the first multiracial, socialist organization close enough to my politics that I could join." He also described himself as a "
radical democrat, suspicious of all forms of authority" in the Matrix-themed documentary The Burly Man Chronicles.[77]
West's campaign sparked concerns of its potential to be a
spoiler and potentially lead to the election of
Donald Trump or
another Republican.[38][80][81][82][83][84] Many Democrats believe that third party candidates caused them to lose the
2000 and
2016 elections by diverting votes from otherwise likely Democratic voters,[85][86][87] although Green Party representatives have maintained that they did not spoil these elections.[88][89]
Various independent analyses have found that a spoiler effect does exist, but have been inconclusive on whether or not it would be enough to affect the outcome of an election.[90][91] Because of these debated concerns, many in the Democratic Party have employed maneuvers attempting to keep third parties off the ballot,[92][93] which has been criticized as undermining democracy.[94][better source needed][relevant?][95]
As of September 2023, most
general election polling has overall indicated that West would reduce Biden's support and Trump's support by about 1 to 2 points respectively,[13][96] however other polls have showed a negligible or even positive effect for Biden.[97][98] A poll released on July 31, 2024, found that the inclusion of third party candidates like Cornel West,
Robert F. Kennedy Jr., and
Jill Stein had the effect of increasing Kamala Harris's lead over Donald Trump.[99]
West has argued that the Democratic Party does not "deserve anybody's vote," and have challenged the differences between the two major parties.[100][better source needed]
Funding
West's donors include Republican megadonor
Harlan Crow,[101] who some have theorized may have donated to the campaign in the hope that West will hurt Biden's electoral chances.[102] West returned Crow's donation.[103]
Melina Abdullah, activist, former chair of the department of Pan-African Studies at California State University, Los Angeles (West's running mate; Independent)
Peter Daou, political activist, musician, and author (West's co-campaign manager; Independent)[108]