2024 presidential race intesifies with Cornel West shakeup

This article was written by Brodyn Funderburk on June 6, 2023.

June 5, 2023 - Cornel West announces his candidacy for President of the United States as a member of the People's Party.

Yesterday, Cornel West announced that he was running in the 2024 election for President. One of the most well-respected African-American philosophers and political activists in the United States, West became the first presidential candidate to be produced from the young People's Party, a third party that split from the Democrats after the 2020 primaries in response to the DNC rigging the nomination against Bernie Sanders.

The presidential campaign of Cornel West has been met with mixed responses. The leftist political commentator Kyle Kulinski of Secular Talk criticized West for running with the People's Party in a video that largely tried to imply that the party is somehow a cult. Kulinski explained that he "respected" West, but that West "did not know" what he was doing. Caleb Maupin of the Center for Political Innovation has largely spoke in favor of West and has defended the People's Party for unproven accusations, although he has made it clear that neither he nor his organization endorses political candidates.

Earlier that day, former Vice President Mike Pence announced his own presidential campaign for the Republican nomination. He is challenging former President Donald Trump and incumbent Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. It is a longshot campaign for Pence, who currently trails behind in the polls around 6%-9%. Trump's polling has surged as high as 61%, meanwhile DeSantis continues to struggle in the 16%-19% range.

The Democratic Party is looking towards a messy primary themselves. Incumbent President Joe Biden is currently running for reelection, however his approval rating has tanked at an all time low of 36%. The younger Robert F. Kennedy Jr. appears to be a crowd favorite to take Biden on for the nomination, earning the support of Dennis Kucinich and Tulsi Gabbard. His best poll put him at 35%, however most polls put him in the 19%-25%. Another candidate, author Marianne Williamson, is also trying to take on Biden, largely to the sound of crickets. Her polling is around the same as Mike Pence's.

The presidential bid of Cornel West appears to be a longshot at the moment, especially considering he is running with a third party. However, his heavy influence in the Black community and his popularity with former Bernie Bros. gives him a better shot than he has been given credit for. No major polling has been conducted to give us an indication of how West can expect to perform, but 2024 has been eyed up by political analysts as a great year for third parties, especially in the event of a Trump-Biden rematch.