This Is How Many Votes Kanye West Actually Received
It's safe to say that Kanye West underperformed in his 2020 bid for president of the United States. Though the rapper, designer, and all-around mogul was not without supporters, West's campaign was marked by a lack of organization that made it nearly impossible for him to compete with other third-party candidates, much less major party nominees Joe Biden and Donald Trump.
West missed the filing deadline to make it onto the ballot in most states, meaning that in many places, supporters would have to write him in if they wanted to vote for him. To add additional confusion, West was also on some ballots as a vice presidential candidate, running with Roque "Rocky" De La Fuente as part of the American Independent Party.
Aside from the ballot confusion, West also had a number of high-profile celebrities come out and tell people specifically not to vote for him: Jennifer Aniston told people a vote for Kanye is "not funny," telling her fans to "please be responsible." West's campaign clearly had plenty of hurdles to overcome — how many votes did he manage to secure?
Kanye West only competed in 12 states
At the time of this writing, votes are still being counted, so these numbers could change a little bit. But according to preliminary tallies, West got at least 1,000 votes in each of the 12 states in which he made the ballot. He received his most votes in Tennessee, where he notched over 10,000, while he received his least in Vermont, tallying just 1,200, according to the New York Post.
All said and done, West has received around 57,000 votes from the 12 states in which his name appeared on the ballot. He will likely receive a few more votes as states continue to count ballots. With the exceptions of Colorado, Minnesota, and Vermont, all of the states West received votes in went red for President Trump. One of Kanye's votes came from West himself, who claimed that it was the first time he had ever voted in a US presidential election.
Whatever the final tally, it is clear that Kanye West is not going to be in the Oval Office come January. However, his presidential aspirations are far from over.
On to the next one...
In the early morning hours of November 4, Kanye West offered his concession — sort of. The enigmatic rapper shared a photo of himself on Twitter, posed in front of the Electoral College map without a single state awarded to him. West captioned the photo "KANYE 2024," suggesting that he would be running again in the next election regardless of whether Donald Trump or Joe Biden wins.
West first announced his intention to run for president at the 2015 Video Music Awards, saying he would be running in 2020. However, after Trump won in 2016, West rallied behind him and seemed to suggest that he would be pushing his campaign off until 2024. In 2016, the artist went on a lengthy, since-deleted tweetstorm, explaining that he and Trump were friends and ending with a 2024 hashtag. If West's 2020 presidential campaign didn't exactly go as he wanted, it's not that much of a setback from where he expected to be four years ago.
Even if West doesn't officially hold an elected position in 2020, both he and his wife Kim Kardashian West have shown an ever-increasing interest in using their unparalleled platforms for political content, and that doesn't seem to be changing anytime soon.
Inside Kanye West's history of politics
Even if 2020 was the first time Kanye West ever voted for a president, it's hardly the first time he's thrown his cap into the political arena. West famously went off-script at a Hurricane Katrina fundraiser to declare, "George Bush doesn't care about Black people." While the controversy was a far cry from running for president, it did demonstrate at least an awareness of political issues and a willingness to use his platform.
West then had a kind of love-hate relationship with President Barack Obama. While West did donate to Obama's campaigns, the then-president was caught on a hot mic calling the rapper a "jacka**" after the infamous VMA debacle of 2009. West later criticized Obama, claiming he did "nothing" for their hometown of Chicago.
West's wife, reality star Kim Kardashian West, has also shown a desire to become more involved in politics in recent years as well. Kardashian West met with President Trump 2018 to lobby for criminal justice reform and clemency for Alice Marie Johnson. Kardashian West also began the process of earning a law degree after the experience, seeming to signal a desire to continue to use her platform for advocacy. The way West's presidential run went, the jury is still out on whether Kardashian West is more likely to be first lady or president herself.