Kanye West not out of Presidential race, will appear on Oklahoma's ballot as independent candidate
Kanye West will appear on the general election ballot in at least one state this November despite reports that the rapper-producer had suspended his bombshell presidential bid. West has qualified to be in the Sooner State's ballot, according to a Wednesday tweet by the Oklahoma State Election Board. As reported by Fox News, Wednesday was the state's deadline for "independent and unrecognized party presidential candidates to file statements of candidacy with their petitions or filing fees."
Fox News confirmed with a spokeswoman for the election board that the 'Famous' hitmaker had qualified after the state posted his statement of candidacy on its website and listed him as a candidate. "This afternoon we received a properly executed statement of candidacy for Kanye West, along with the appropriate filing fee in lieu of petition," Oklahoma State Election Board spokeswoman Misha Mohr told the outlet. "Kanye West is now qualified as an independent candidate for President of the United States in Oklahoma and will appear on the General Election ballot."
This comes just a day after a report by The Intelligencer claimed West had suspended his campaign after having onboarded both "paid and volunteer" staff to help him get on the ballot by securing signatures in Florida and South Carolina. The billionaire fashion designer made his presidential aspirations public in a tweet on the Fourth of July. "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," he said.
Shortly after, West revealed in a lengthy and wide-ranging interview with Forbes that he had rescinded his support of Trump and said Democratic presumptive nominee Joe Biden was "not special." “I’m not saying Trump’s in my way, he may be a part of my way. And Joe Biden? Like, come on man, please. You know? Obama’s special. Trump’s special. We say Kanye West is special. America needs special people that lead. Bill Clinton? Special. Joe Biden’s not special,” West said.
The rapper's bid for the highest office in the country also sparked controversy after he shared his pro-life stance with the magazine, leading to a clash with Planned Parenthood. “Planned Parenthoods have been placed inside cities by white supremacists to do the Devil’s work," he told Forbes. “I am pro-life because I’m following the word of the Bible." The news comes after it was reported that his friends and family feared he is in the midst of a serious bipolar episode. Sources told TMZ that those closest to the rapper were concerned that the episode had affected his decision-making. The tabloid added that “our sources say his family and those close to him are worried, but they believe things will stabilize as they have in the past.”
Kanye himself has not yet made any announcement about his presidential bid following an explosive interview with Forbes, but recently posted a video on Twitter of him registering to vote for the first time at the county clerk’s office in Cody, Wyoming.