Kanye West files petitions in Illinois to run for president
Rapper Kanye West, jumping in the presidential campaign very late, filed petitions to appear on the Illinois 2020 ballot Monday minutes before the deadline.
West, who was raised in Chicago, is not running a national campaign and is scrambling to qualify for ballot status in states with different requirements.
West, who had been a supporter of President Donald Trump, said this month he broke with the president.
West filed in Illinois as an independent candidate just four minutes before the 5 p.m. deadline Monday.
The rapper filed a statement of candidacy with the Federal Election Commission on July 16. That filing, as well as his Illinois petitions, lists an address in Cody, Wyoming, that West bought last year, according to the Cody Enterprise.
West filed 412 traditional paper sheets with original signatures, said Matt Dietrich, spokesman for the Illinois State Board of Elections. Since West filed as an independent, he was required to turn in at least 2,500 signatures, 10% of the 25,000 signatures normally needed to appear on the ballot because of the pandemic.
A review of the petitions shows some pages have one or two signatures and signers come from counties around the state like downstate Effingham County and Lee County, which is due west of Chicago.
At a campaign rally Sunday, West said marijuana should be free and said everyone who has a baby should get a million dollars, in an effort to slow abortion.
He also ranted against historical figure Harriet Tubman during the rally, saying the Underground Railroad conductor “never actually freed the slaves, she just had them work for other white people,” comments that drew shouts of opposition from some in the crowd.
West also posted, then deleted, a series of tweets claiming his wife, Kim Kardashian West, was trying to “bring a doctor to lock me up with a doctor,” according to NPR.
West must survive any objections to his petitions. Objections must be filed by 5 p.m. July 27; the state’s board of elections will certify the Nov. 3 ballot at its meeting Aug. 21.
United Airlines, reporting on what it called “the most difficult financial quarter in its 94year history,” said Tuesday it lost $1.6 billion for the three months ending June 30 and is gradually reducing a cash burn of around $40 million per day.
Adjusted to exclude special items, the second-quarter loss totaled $2.6 billion.
The Chicago-based airline, which has said it will cut about 45% of its domestic workforce, insisted it is managing its business better than other major carriers in the wake of the travel industry’s collapse due to COVID-19. United said revenue during the second quarter fell 87% from the same period last year to $1.48 billion.
It said that by the end of the current quarter, it expects to reduce its daily cash burn rate to about $25 million.
CEO Scott Kirby said the results are dire but will beat those of competitors. “We accomplished this by quickly and accurately forecasting the impact that COVID would have on passenger and cargo demand, accurately matching our schedule to that reduced demand, completing the largest debt financing deal in aviation history, and cutting expenses across our business,” he said.
“We believe this quick and aggressive action has positioned United to both survive the COVID crisis and capitalize on consumer demand when it sustainably returns.”
United warned July 8 that it may furlough up to 36,000 of its front-line workers in the U.S. on Oct. 1. While it is offering buyouts to workers who want to leave voluntarily, the company said Tuesday only 6,000 have taken the deal. It has a tentative furlough agreement with its pilots union.
The net loss amounted to $5.79 a share and compares with a second-quarter profit of $1.47 billion, $4.02 a share, a year ago. The adjusted net loss was $9.31 a share and was slightly ahead of expectations of analysts polled by Zacks Investment Research. The airline’s revenues also were slightly higher than expectations.
Executives are due to discuss the results in a conference call with analysts Wednesday morning.
United said the company’s liquidity totals about $15 billion, bolstered by more than $16 billion in debt offerings, stock issuances and grants and loans under the federal CARES Act.
The company said its operating capacity was down 88% from the second quarter of 2019.
It said it expects to operate at 35% of capacity during the current quarter and will continue to evaluate and cancel flights on a rolling 60-day basis until it sees demand perk up. But the company said it expects passenger loads to be reduced until there is a widely available treatment or vaccine for COVID-19.
Last week, Delta Air Lines reported a $5.7 billion loss for its second quarter. American and Southwest airlines are due to report results Thursday.
In Tuesday’s trading, United shares finished at $33.07, up 2.3% for the day, and its share rose slightly in after-market business. United announced its earnings after the market’s close.