Kanye West is trying his Kanye Best to win the 2020 U.S. Presidential Election, but his chance of winning just became Kanye Less. Ohio and Illinois booted West from the ballot, and he no longer has a viable path to obtaining the 270 Electoral College Votes needed to win.
Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose said in a news release that the rapper and producer’s candidacy “failed to meet the necessary threshold for certification.” According to The Cincinnati Enquirer, mismatched paperwork, which included West’s signature and information on his nominating petition and candidacy statement did not match legitimate petition documents. In Wisconson, the Election Commission ruled that West reportedly had a late registration in filing his candidacy. An attorney for West blamed Democrats.
On Aug. 7, West’s home state, Illinois, kicked him off the ballot due to illegitimate signatures on his candidate petition. In South Carolina, he did not get the 10,000 signatures needed to run. That did not stop him from hosting a rally in the latter state or stating he wanted Jay-Z to be his running mate.
West is still on the ballot in Arkansas, Colorado, Oklahoma, Utah and Vermont. His status is still pending in six states, which are Iowa, Missouri, Minnesota, Virginia, West Virginia and Tennessee. In order to win 270 electoral votes, West would need a successful write-in campaign in the remaining states. For West, a July poll found him receiving only two percent of all votes.
West formally declared his candidacy on July 4. Four days later, he sat down with Forbes and claimed that he would run under The Birthday Party. Republican operatives and figures, including President Donald Trump and those affiliated with him, have been accused of trying to get West on several state ballots to hinder former Vice President Joe Biden’s chances of winning. Trump has denied these accusations, but West did not deny that he is running a spoiler campaign against Biden.