Cornel West drops Green Party candidacy, will run as an Independent

Presidential candidate Cornel West has dropped out of the Green Party’s presidential primary and will run as an independent, according to an email from his campaign to the Daily Caller News Foundation.

West, a professor of philosophy and left-wing political commentator known for his 1993 book “Race Matters,” announcedhis candidacy for the presidency on June 5, arguing that he would bring “truth and justice” to the United States. Later, he announced that he would seek the Green Party’s presidential nomination, though wrote on Thursday that he would no longer do so, citing “the intricacies of internal party dynamics” in his announcement.

“I nod in solidarity to the Green Party for their shared values and commitment to justice. But my quest for the presidency belongs to the people. I believe the best way to challenge the entrenched system is by focusing 100% on the people,” West wrote. “Our Constitution provides for Independent candidates to gain ballot access in all states, and I have begun seeking ballot access as an Independent, unaffiliated with any political party.”

People are hungry for change. They want good policies over partisan politics. We need to break the grip of the duopoly and give power to the people. I’m running as an Independent candidate for President of the United States to end the iron grip of the ruling class and ensure true… pic.twitter.com/34FFQARTEe

— Cornel West (@CornelWest) October 5, 2023

West had announced on June 13 that he would seek the Green Party “[i]n the spirit of a broad United Front and coalition strategy.” The party previously nominated Howard Hawkins, a trade union activist and environmental advocate, for president during the 2020 election and physician Jill Stein in the 2016 election.

West’s candidacy has provoked some alarm among Democratic strategists, who believe that West’s popularity among minority votes may draw otherwise likely Democratic votes away from President Joe Biden, the leading candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2024. Biden has faced criticism for his age and economic policies, with multiple polls suggesting that Democrats do not want him to run for president, again.

A poll released on Aug. 4 suggested that West, in a three-way race with Biden and former President Donald Trump, the leading candidate for the Republican presidential nomination, would enable Trump to win the state of Michigan — an important swing state that voted for Trump in 2016 and Biden in 2020.

Apart from West, environmental attorney and anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. — currently, a candidate for the Democratic nomination — has signaled that he will run for president as an independent, claiming that the Democratic National Committee’s official endorsement of Biden is unfair to his campaign. No Labels, a political organization that presently does not have any candidates running for office, has been working to obtain ballot access in several states, in anticipation of nominating a candidate who will run in the 2024 election.

The Green Party and Biden’s 2024 presidential campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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