Rapper and fashion mogul Kanye West has secured a place one the Oklahoma ballot just in time for November’s presidential election. The move comes just after the Grammy-winner filed a “Kanye 2020” presidential committee document with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) on Thursday.
A representative for West filed the necessary paperwork and paid the $35,000 filing Wednesday afternoon, which was the deadline for a spot on the state’s Nov. 3 presidential ballot, said Oklahoma Board of Elections spokeswoman Misha Mohr. He was one of three independent presidential candidates to pay the filing fee prior to the deadline, she added. The others were concert pianist Jade Simmons and cryptocurrency entrepreneur Brock Pierce.
On Wednesday, the Oklahoma State Election Board tweeted that West has qualified to be on the ballot in the state.
Independent presidential candidate Kanye West has qualified for the General Election ballot in Oklahoma. (Today is Oklahoma's deadline for Independent & Unrecognized Party presidential candidates to file statements of candidacy with their petitions or filing fee.)
— Oklahoma State Election Board (@OKelections) July 15, 2020
“Independent presidential candidate Kanye West has qualified for the General Election ballot in Oklahoma,” read the tweet.
“(Today is Oklahoma’s deadline for Independent & Unrecognized Party presidential candidates to file statements of candidacy with their petitions or filing fee.),” the tweet added.
West securing a spot on the Oklahoma ballot appears to confirm that the rapper is moving forward with his 2020 bid for president of the United States, according to a reports.
West’s Statement of Candidacy document reportedly lists his party affiliation as “BDY,” which stands for “Birthday Party.” The committee name for the rapper is also listed on the document as “Kanye 2020.” West filing the document with the FEC arrives on the heels of his adviser Steve Kramer reportedly stating that the rapper is ending his 2020 presidential bid. West announced his decision to run for president of the United States less than two weeks earlier, on July 4.
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
— ye (@kanyewest) July 5, 2020
“He’s out,” said Kramer, who was tasked with assisting West’s team in getting his name on key ballots.
In recent weeks, West’s desire to run for president has also caused him to clash with Planned Parenthood, after the rapper declared himself pro-life and insisted that the abortion mill’s facilities have been placed in cities on behalf of “white supremacists to do the devil’s work.”
Earlier this month, West also proclaimed that removing prayer from schools has led to “more drugs, more murders, more suicide.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
You can follow Alana Mastrangelo on Twitter at @ARmastrangelo, on Parler at @alana, and on Instagram.
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