Political strategist David Axelrod said Green Party candidate Cornel West could tip the election toward Donald Trump. Axelrod tweeted, “In 2016, the Green Party played an outsized role in tipping the election to Donald Trump. With Cornel West as their likely nominee, they could easily do it again. Risky business.”
The left-wing philosopher Cornell West initially stood for the People’s Party but switched allegiance to the Greens. His inclusion on the ballot paper has reportedly rattled some Democrats who believe he will eat into the liberal vote, particularly given the American public’s appetite for candidates outside the major parties.
A NewsNation/DDHQ poll released in July shows that 49% of Americans would consider voting for a third-party candidate if Trump and Biden were their party’s respective nominees.
Jill Stein, a third-party contender in 2016 whom West hired to manage his campaign, is believed by many to have helped Donald Trump into the White House. After the election, several Democrats said Clinton would have won if not for Stein, and fellow progressive Gary Johnson, as they took handsome numbers of votes from the former First Lady in key states.
Matt Bennett, from Third Way, a left-leaning think tank, said, “There is no doubt at all that Stein and Johnson cost Clinton the election in 2016, and a credible third-party vote could do the same to Biden in 2024.”
Cornel West sits on the left wing of the political aisle, although some of his policies would rest comfortably with many conservatives. He believes in freedom of speech and wants to switch to hand-counted voting only. Similarly, he calls for an end to state surveillance, the regulation of Artificial Intelligence, and the “break up” of Big Tech.
West’s left-leaning policies include free healthcare for all, guaranteed education, housing, and a living wage. He furthermore seeks to expand social security, forgive all student debt, and support unions. Finally, he wants to end oil drilling and “invest in clean energy.”
