New Haven Register (New Haven, CT)
Kanye West won’t be on ballot in CT
WASHINGTON — Rapper Kanye West will appear as a presidential candidate on the November ballot in several states — but not Connecticut.
Gabe Rosenberg, communications director for Secretary of the State Denise Merrill, said neither West nor his campaign ever contacted the state elections office and the rapper missed the deadline to petition his way onto the ballot.
West, who is running as a member of the “Birthday Party,” will be on the ballot in at least 12 states.
The music mogul announced his presidential run on Twitter July 4. It’s not the first time he’s said he would run: he first declared his candidacy at the 2015 Video Music Awards, saying he would run in 2020.
West filed paperwork to officially become a candidate in mid-July. As of Aug. 31, his campaign has raised $11,472 and West loaned the campaign $6.7 million, Federal Election Commission filings show. He does not appear to have a campaign website, nor to be actively campaigning.
West’s team did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday.
West, who has vocally supported President Donald Trump in the past, is believed to be running as a spoiler candidate to siphon votes from former Democratic Vice President Joe Biden. Sporting a “Make America Great Again” hat, West met with Trump in the Oval Office in 2018 for a wide-ranging discussion on North Korea, his bipolar disorder, criminal justice reform and other topics.
West’s 2020 quest to gain ballot access has been supported by Republicans in multiple states.
West will be on the ballot in Colorado and Minnesota, two states with close margins in 2016. He will also appear on the ballots of Kentucky, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, Utah, Idaho, Iowa, Tennessee and Vermont. Last week, he gained access to the Mississippi ballot.
A Wisconsin judge ruled Friday that West would not appear on the ballot in that state, upholding a decision by the bipartisan state elections board. But the ruling may be appealed to the state Supreme Court.
West is appealing a decision from a Virginia judge to remove him from that state’s ballot after finding his campaign tricked some voters into helping him get on the ballot.