Democrats warn support for Cornel West’s third-party bid could lead to Republican president
Misty Severi
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Several far-left Democratic lawmakers have voiced concerns that support for Green Party presidential contender Cornel West could pull enough support from President Joe Biden’s reelection campaign that a Republican candidate is elected instead.
Democrats have been sounding the alarm on the need to get Biden reelected as former President Donald Trump continues to dominate in the polls for the Republican Party, despite multiple indictments.
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“I think [West] has a very long record of service and academic thought leadership,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) told the Hill in an article published Tuesday. “I think just right now, given the Electoral College, it’s very difficult to square the very real threat of a Republican presidency … [with] the risk of giving up the very small margin of electoral votes needed to ensure that President Biden wins.”
West, who initially filed to run under the People’s Party in early June, has made friends in Congress and has become a notable member of the progressive movement. But his notoriety also means he could pull more votes from the president than even former Green Party candidate Jill Stein did in 2016.
Although West has built support as a progressive candidate, the Congressional Progressive Caucus has united around Biden.
“The stakes are too high this year, especially if Trump is the nominee,” Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA), a member of the Progressive Caucus, said. “I think everybody, including the most progressive elements of our country, need to protect our democracy by stopping Donald Trump and supporting Joe Biden.”
McGovern said he has followed West, who taught at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and said he was worried about the scenario in which West incidentally got Trump back into the White House by pulling votes away from Biden.
“I worry about those things because Cornel West is a very effective speaker and can be very persuasive,” McGovern said. “I am not here to question his motives or bash him because I’ve followed him for many, many years, but I just wish he wasn’t doing it.”
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West announced his candidacy for president earlier this year with the promise to fight for a host of issues, including a living wage, “decent housing,” women’s bodily autonomy, “healthcare for all,” and climate change.
“I care about the quality of your life. I care about whether you have access to a job with a living wage, decent housing, women having control over their bodies, health care for all, de-escalating the destruction of the planet,” West said in his presidential announcement.