by Cedric ‘BIG CED’ Thornton, Black Enterprise, August 13, 2020
With all the talk about Kanye West playing the role of spoiler for Joe Biden‘s presidential chances, it looks like it won’t boil down to support from Black people, according to Politico.
West has all but confirmed that his intention for running for president is to spoil Biden’s chances and help his friend President Donald Trump win re-election. If he was trying to do so by the Black vote, then he may as well just end his campaign today.
Based on a new POLITICO/Morning Consult poll, West was able to garner only 2% support overall among registered voters, seven points behind the “no opinion” option. And his support among Black voters is just as paltry at the same 2%, which amounts to West having no significant impact. Biden’s nine-point national lead over Trump is unmoved with or without West on the ballot.
“I think a lot of people of color view Kanye’s bid for the presidency as a quixotic one, and they don’t see him as being legitimate for the office. It’s more of yet another Kanye publicity stunt,” said Ron Christie, a Black Republican strategist and former aide to Dick Cheney.
“Democrats traditionally get 90-plus percent of the Black vote. I think a lot of people are going to look at Kanye and just say, ‘I don’t think so.’”
Apparently, the thinking on the Republican side is that West will do well with the Black vote and that, in turn, would help Trump as those votes anticipated for West would be taken from Biden. This is probably why a handful of influential Republican operatives are working to get West’s name on the ballot in several states.
West is most popular among Gen Zers, many of them eligible to vote for the first time in November. His favorable rating with the demographic is at 31%. However, only 6% said they would vote for him.
“It is clear that Republicans and Trump think they will benefit from having Kanye West on the ballot. To counter his propped-up candidacy, we have to engage young Black voters early and consistently on the issues that matter to them most and through the voices of people who understand their struggles and concerns,” said Justin Myers, CEO of For Our Future, a union-funded super PAC focused on organizing.