GOP network props up liberal third-party candidates in key states, hoping to siphon off Harris votes

Source: Yahoo! News/AP

Sun, September 1, 2024 at 1:51 PM EDT


WASHINGTON (AP) — Italo Medelius was leading a volunteer drive to put Cornel West on North Carolina’s presidential ballot last spring when he received an unexpected call from a man named Paul who said he wanted to help. Though Medelius, co-chairman of West’s “Justice for All Party,” welcomed the assistance, the offer would complicate his life, provoking threats and drawing him into a state election board investigation of the motivations, backgrounds and suspect tactics of his new allies.

Across the country, a network of Republican political operatives, attorneys and their allies is trying to shape November’s election in ways that favor former President Donald Trump. Their goal is to prop up third-party candidates such as West who offer liberal voters an alternative that could siphon away support from Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee.

It’s not clear who is paying for the effort, but it could be impactful in states decided by miniscule margins in 2020. It’s money West’s campaign does not have and he has encouraged the effort. Last month the academic told The Associated Press that “American politics is highly gangster-like activity” and he “just wanted to get on that ballot.”

Trump has called West “one of my favorite candidates.” Another is Green Party candidate Jill Stein. He favors both for the same reason. “I like her very much. You know why? She takes 100% from them. He takes 100%.” Democrats are exploring ways to lift Randall Terry, an anti-abortion presidential candidate for the Constitution Party, believing he could draw voters from Trump.

Read more: https://www.yahoo.com/news/gop-network-props-liberal-third-175139068.html