Kanye West has qualified as a write-in presidential candidate for the upcoming November election in Maryland, a state election official confirmed Thursday.
The 43-year-old rapper and entrepreneur tweeted on the Fourth of July that he was running for president. He publicly retracted his support for President Trump a few days later.
Mr. West is running as an independent under the newly formed Birthday Party. He released Tuesday his first presidential campaign commercial, in which he touted reviving “our nation’s commitment to faith” and “building stronger families.”
The Maryland Board of Elections accepted and approved West’s write-in affidavit on Wednesday, according to spokesman Dave Curley.
Board of Elections data show that 369,058 mail-in ballots already have been received, as of Thursday afternoon.
• Emily Zantow can be reached at ezantow@washingtontimes.com.
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