With three weeks to go before Election Day, Kanye West has released his first campaign ad calling on voters to choose him as a write-in candidate — the latest wrinkle in his long-shot bid for the White House.
West, 43, announced the launch of the write-in campaign last week and posted the ad to Twitter ahead of the start of early voting in several states Monday.
»RELATED: Kanye West declared ineligible for ballot in 2 key battleground states
The video advertisement includes a picture of a ballot with West’s name written in as the choice for president, reports said.
“America. What is America’s destiny? What is best for our nation, our people? What is just, true justice? We have to think about all these things together as a people. To contemplate our future, to live up to our dreams, we must have vision,” West says in the ad.
“We as a people are called to a greater purpose than ourselves. We are not only a beacon to the world, but we should be servants to each other — to encourage each other, to help each other, to lift up each other, our fellow Americans, that we may all prosper together,” he continues.
»MORE: Kanye West accuses Democrats of spying on his campaign
“We have to act on faith with the sure knowledge that we are pursuing the right goals and doing the right things. We will build a stronger country by building stronger families. Families are the building blocks of society, of a nation. By turning to faith we will be the kind of nation, the kind of people, God intends us to be.”
The video ends with the rapper encouraging voters to “write in Kanye West.”
West’s Birthday Party campaign has been financed by national Republican operatives, but he has failed to make the ballot in several states — including the key battlegrounds of Wisconsin and Ohio — primarily because of late paperwork, missed deadlines and forged signatures on ballot petitions.
In Wisconsin, some voters filed sworn statements claiming they were tricked into signing their names.
West’s national popularity has also been sluggish, with his campaign polling in the low single digits, according to reports.
West is on the ballot in 12 states, including Idaho, Utah, Colorado, Oklahoma, Minnesota, Iowa, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, West Virginia and Vermont.
In California, West’s name also appears on the ballot as a vice presidential candidate of the American Independent party, whose nominee for president is Rocky De La Fuente.
West is also officially on the ballot as a write-in candidate in five states, including Alabama, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New Hampshire and Rhode Island.
That leaves 32 states in which West’s name does not appear on the ballot at all.
If West were to win as a write-in candidate, he would surpass Strom Thurmond, who was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1954 following a successful write-in campaign. Thurmond ended up serving until 2003, according to Tribune News Service reports.
A former supporter of President Donald Trump, West filed his paperwork July 15 with the Federal Election Commission as an independent candidate.
Four days later, he officially announced his bid for the White House in South Carolina, where he delivered a disquieting campaign speech in which he proposed a $1 million payout to mothers, decried abolitionist Harriet Tubman and broke into tears after revealing he once asked his wife Kim Kardashian to consider aborting their first child.
During the next few weeks, reports surfaced that Republican operatives around the country were helping West qualify for ballots in key states, raising suspicions he was being goaded to run by Trump allies aiming to steal support from Joe Biden.
West’s running mate is Michelle Tidball, a self-proclaimed “biblical life coach.” She is from Cody, Wyoming, where West purchased a 4,500-acre ranch in September 2019.
About the Author
