Independent presidential candidate Cornel West said that the Democratic and Republican parties have “good reason to be afraid” of third-party candidates running in the 2024 election like himself.
“I think they have good reason to be afraid because anybody who wants to speak the truth when you have a regime in power that denies the truth, anybody who seeks justice, who runs away from justice, they ought to be afraid,” Mr. West said on Fox News’s “The Ingraham Angle.”
Democratic leaders have voiced worries that third-party candidates could hurt President Biden’s chances for reelection.
“Both of them shot through with corruption,” Mr. West said of the two major parties, adding that he’s “just trying to stand for truth and justice.”
“That’s what I’m standing for. And that’s what I’m gonna live and die for,” he said
Mr. West, a left-wing activist and social critic, was originally running under the Green Party banner. He switched to an independent run in early October.
“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!” Mr. West posted on X at the time.
“People are hungry for change,” he wrote. “they want good policies over partisan politics. We need to break the grip of the duopoly and give power to the people.”
Along with Mr. West, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is running for president as an independent after switching from the Democratic Party ballot.
Bipartisan political group No Labels has also been working towards gaining access to ballots in at least 10 states for a potential candidate.
A third-party candidate has never won a presidential election, and they rarely get more than 1% of the popular vote. However, they can take votes away from Republican or Democratic candidates and help the other party win.
• Mallory Wilson can be reached at mwilson@washingtontimes.com.
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