Kanye West announced on the Fourth of July that he is running for president. It’s unclear if he plans to run in 2020 or a future election.
West tweeted: “We must now realize the promise of America by trusting God, unifying our vision and building our future. I am running for president of the United States! #2020VISION.”
His wife, Kim Kardashian West, seemed to confirm the news. She retweeted West’s tweet with an American flag emoji.
West hinted at a 2020 presidential run during the 2015 VMA Awards after he was given the Video Vanguard Award by Taylor Swift, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
West visited President Donald Trump at the White House in 2018 where the two discussed criminal justice reform.
West’s decision to run is something of a late registration. He would have to register as an independent in several states to make his way to the ballot since he is unlikely to unseat Trump as the Republican Party nominee or former Vice President Joe Biden as the presumptive Democratic Party nominee.
So this would leave West to run as an independent candidate. But that comes with its own requirements, according to BallotPedia:
“Generally speaking, an independent presidential candidate must petition for placement on the general election ballot in all 50 states as well as Washington, D.C. A handful of states may allow an independent candidate to pay a filing fee in lieu of submitting a petition. The methods for calculating how many signatures are required vary from state to state, as do the actual signature requirements. For instance, some states establish a flat signature requirement. Other states calculate signature requirements as percentages of voter registration or votes cast for a given office.”
As Yahoo News’ Hunter Walker reported there are a few states where West couldn’t register, including Texas, New York and Illinois, which are “three of the top six in terms of electoral college votes. There are several other deadlines coming up in the next couple weeks.” States also have various registration qualifications, including signatures and filing information. The other states include New Mexico, North Carolina, Indiana and Maine, per BallotPedia.
That said, another scenario could see West running on his own and make a play for the write-in spot. But, according to BallotPedia, 33 states “require a write-in presidential candidate to file some paperwork in advance of an election. In nine states, write-in voting for presidential candidates is not permitted. The remaining states do not require presidential write-in candidates to file special paperwork before the election.”
Regardless, it’s possible that West — if he does run and register in available states — could impact the 2020 election, though, taking votes from either Trump or Biden.
Whatever happens, it’ll be interesting to see how West’s run shapes out. We already have an inkling of what it could mean as social media weighed in on the news.