Cornel West Is Running as Independent in Presidential Race

(Bloomberg) -- Cornel West, the Ivy League academic mounting a progressive challenge to Joe Biden, has dropped plans to campaign under the Green Party banner and instead run as an independent candidate for president.

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West made the decision official Thursday with a filing to the Federal Election Commission changing his party affiliation.

“I’m running as an Independent candidate for President of the United States to end the iron grip of the ruling class and ensure true democracy!” West posted Thursday on X, the platform formerly called Twitter.

Bloomberg News reported in June that West had brought on Jill Stein, the Green Party’s 2016 nominee, to serve as interim coordinator for his campaign and help him to secure the Green Party nomination.

An independent run means he won’t have to compete for that nomination. But it also presents new challenges, as he won’t be able to use the Green Party’s existing ballot lines and will have to put together a grassroots campaign to get access to state ballots.

West’s decision comes as third-party candidates for president jockey to mount a credible alternative to Biden and former President Donald Trump, whose commanding lead over the Republican presidential roster sets up a potential rematch of the 2020 presidential election.

Earlier: Jill Stein, 2016 Green Candidate, Now Running Cornel West’s Bid

In addition to West, the centrist group No Labels is securing a place on state ballots for an as-yet-undecided “unity ticket” that could run a Republican and a Democrat for president and vice president.

And Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the son of the former New York senator and US attorney general whose own presidential candidacy ended with his assassination in 1968, is now running against Biden in the Democratic primaries. Yet he’s chafed at party rules and has left open the possibility of an independent run. His campaign said he would announce “a major shift in American politics” on Monday.

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