Published on November 22, 2023, 2:17 am

Prominent left-wing advocate and scholar Cornel West, who recently chose to part ways with the Green Party to begin an independent presidential run, is finding himself at odds with several of his left-wing comrades. Some within his circle worry that he may indeed pull away critical votes that would have otherwise solidified President Joe Biden’s follower base.

Criticism from some Democrats draws parallels between West’s actions and those of Ralph Nader in the 2000 elections. Nader’s third-party candidacy is commonly perceived as having directed enough votes away from Al Gore to hand the election victory over to George W. Bush.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), despite acknowledging her respect for West’s long-drawn service record and academic prowess, expressed misgivings about his independent run for presidency. She stressed on the impending threat towards a Republican win if West siphons off a slender margin of electoral votes crucial for securing a win for President Biden.

Massachusetts Rep. Jim McGovern(D) too shared similar concerns despite appreciating West as an influential speaker; emphasizing on safeguarding democracy by backing Biden to prevent Trump’s nomination, considering what’s at stake this year.

West countered these criticisms by asserting that votes aren’t owned by any individual candidate but are earned, ruling out the opinion of him taking away Biden’s possible votes. He further calmed apprehensive Democrats when he suggested in another interview that potential voters supporting him probably wouldn’t have voted for Biden anyway, they might have chosen to stay home instead.

Additionally, he emphasized that his aim was not just towards capturing only a minuscule percentage of votes from the two major parties but diverting attention towards the considerable segment of population who choose not vote at all or would never lend their support to either party.

However, it is noteworthy that West has increasingly criticized the Democratic party recently blaming instances such as alleged “crimes against humanity” towards African Americans on President Biden. He expressed his disappointment with the party over their support for mediocre candidate selection, apart from their failure to address large scale problems like militarism, poverty and supremacist practices plaguing the nation.

In his campaign announcement video, West detailed his focus areas as president which would include wages adequacy, housing sufficiency, backing reproductive rights , universal healthcare provisions etc.; stating that he is running in order to uphold truth and justice.

West’s initial choice was the People’s Party before transferring allegiances to the Green Party due mainly because the former lacked ballot access. Now running as an independent candidate presents itself with even more challenges such as obtaining ballot in all 50 states among other state specific electoral requisites; this being stated by West’s campaign manager Peter Daou himself.

Richard Winger renowned expert dealing with ballot access circles resonated similar sentiments citing historical evidence pointing out how previous independent candidates of any substantial importance were forced to resort to various means in their presidential pursuits outside major parties.
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