JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. — Despite his status as a famed rapper, Kanye West will not get the chance to “send it up” on Missouri’s presidential ballot.
West, a Grammy-award winning rapper and independent candidate for president, failed to make it onto Missouri’s November ballot, turning in just under 6,500 signatures, Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft said Tuesday. Candidates must turn in 10,000 signatures to appear as an independent on the ballot in Missouri.
“Today our office issued a letter to Kanye West informing him of the insufficiency of his independent candidate nomination petition for President,” Ashcroft said. “The petition was determined to have 6,557 valid signatures of the required 10,000.”
West filed a petition to appear on the Missouri ballot in late July.
West announced plans to run for office on the Fourth of July, subsequently filing petitions to appear on ballots in numerous states. His announcement came too late to file in Indiana, New Mexico, North Carolina, and Texas, and several other state deadlines passed before he officially began filing.
West said on Twitter last week that he had successfully made it onto the ballot in 10 states, including Colorado and Oklahoma. He was turned down by Wisconsin last week and denied by Wyoming Tuesday morning, turning in zero signatures in his home state — 4,025 less than would be needed to secure his place on the ballot, according to Forbes.
West has teased a run for the highest office for years, boasting an occasional friendship with President Donald Trump since 2016.
West’s run has failed to gain much traction with the public either, with a recent national poll finding only 2 percent of those surveyed would vote for him.
Former Vice President Joe Biden was officially named the Democratic nominee for the presidency during the Democratic National Convention last week. He will face Trump on the Nov. 3 ballot.
Cameron Gerber studied journalism at Lincoln University. Prior to Lincoln, he earned an associate’s degree from State Fair Community College. Cameron is a native of Eldon, Missouri.
Contact Cameron at cameron@themissouritimes.com.
