By: Jordan Meadows
Staff Writer
On Tuesday morning, the North Carolina State Board of Elections decided that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. ‘s We The People Party would be permitted to run for president.
The board denied ballot access to another third-party candidate, Cornel West, and his newly established party, Justice For All. This decision, unlike Kennedy’s, was made strictly along party lines.
The Democratic majority cited concerns that, although Justice For All submitted sufficient signatures, complaints had emerged suggesting potential issues with the validity of those signatures. Subpoenas issued to individuals who gathered the signatures were not complied with. Consequently, the Democratic members chose not to approve West’s candidacy.
Siobhan Millen, the sole dissenting vote and a Democratic appointee in Kennedy’s vote, expressed concerns that We The People is a sham party with no plans to field candidates in other races or future elections. She pointed out that Kennedy is also running under different party affiliations in other states.
Republican members criticized the board for “making a tragic error” in denying Cornel West’s candidacy. Despite harsh criticism from outside GOP groups accusing the Democratic members of political bias, the Democratic members argued it resulted from thoughtful deliberation.
The 2024 election is anticipated to be a rematch between Democrat Joe Biden and Republican Donald Trump. In 2020, North Carolina was the only swing state to support Trump and was one of the nation’s most closely contested states. Trump narrowly won North Carolina by less than 1.5 percent of the vote. Democrats believe that winning North Carolina could significantly bolster Biden’s reelection chances, even if Trump secures victories in other swing states.
Cornel West, a progressive academic running to the left of Joe Biden, would likely draw votes primarily from Biden’s base if he were on the ballot in North Carolina. In contrast, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s potential impact is more complex. Although he comes from the prominent Kennedy family, many of his views align more with the Republican Party. Thus, if Kennedy were on the ballot in North Carolina, he could potentially attract voters from both Trump and Biden.
This year, Democrats are keenly aware of the risks posed by third-party candidates, aiming to avoid a repeat of Hillary Clinton’s experience in 2016. Signs of Republican involvement in the third-party race have already begun to emerge.
In April, The Washington Post reported that pro-Trump activist Scott Presler was collecting signatures for Cornel West outside a Trump rally in North Carolina. In an online video, Presler labeled West, an academic, as a “far-left Marxist” and suggested that his presence on the ballot could siphon votes away from Joe Biden.
By early June, West had been mostly inactive on the campaign trail and his political campaign was in debt. Financial disclosures revealed that he had spent only $2,400 this year on gathering the necessary signatures to qualify for the ballot in various states across the country.
West’s party eventually submitted far more than the 13,000 signatures required. Emails obtained by The Associated Press reveal that current and former employees of Blitz Canvassing, a Republican firm that has earned millions working for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, were instrumental in helping West achieve this. According to previously reported information from NBC News, these employees were the designated representatives responsible for collecting and submitting petitions for West’s campaign.
The involvement of GOP-affiliated efforts in gathering signatures for West extends beyond North Carolina. NBC4 reported that signature gatherers in a Washington state Target parking lot were seen soliciting signatures for a petition to “get Donald Trump off the ballot.” However, the signatures were being collected to support Cornel West’s bid for the Virginia ballot.
Legal experts warn that West’s use of a large number of paid signature gatherers funded by an outside party could potentially lead to legal issues, as it might be considered an in-kind contribution to his campaign.
Although Robert F. Kennedy Jr. initially entered the presidential race as a Democrat challenging Joe Biden, he quickly attracted significant attention from Republicans. Democrats are concerned that Kennedy’s remaining appeal among left-leaning voters could potentially siphon support from Biden.
