Joke or not – could Kanye play spoiler in the 2020 election?

Jul 10, 2020

1 min

Mark Caleb Smith, Ph.D.


It’s set the internet abuzz – and as rap superstar Kanye West (with the help of his wife Kim Kardashian West and billionaire Elon Musk) took to Twitter to declare his intentions to run for president this November.




One small problem – West has missed several key deadlines to get on the ballot. However, if he is determined to run, he can ‘t run in key states like Texan, New York or North Carolina.


This all seems silly right now, but if the sometimes controversial and very unpredictable celebrity makes a run, in the end – who would it help and who would it hurt?



  • Could West’s popularity siphon off votes from Joe Biden key battleground areas?


  • Or would a West campaign steal the attention and airtime away from Donald Trump leaving him to pitch policy and drastically reducing his reach?


In a year that knows nothing normal, if you are covering Kanye West and the 2020 election – let our experts help.


Mark Caleb Smith is the Director of the Center for Political Studies at Cedarville University. Mark is available to speak with media regarding this topic and any aspects about the upcoming election. Simply click on his icon to arrange an interview.

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Mark Caleb Smith, Ph.D.

Mark Caleb Smith, Ph.D.

Professor of Political Science

Dr. Smith is an expert in American politics, campaigns & elections, and constitutional law.

Constitutional LawPresidential PoliticsPresidential Campaigns

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