Rapper and Donald Trump buddy Kanye West is reportedly “out” of the Presidential Race after making a late attempt to be added to the ballot in Florida, according to New York Magazine.
West announced two weeks ago that he would be running to become President of the United States this November. He began his campaign by preaching an anti-vaccination and anti-abortion stance, which divided his fanbase even further.
Unfortunately for Kanye, it was already too late for him to run in several states after he made the announcement. Over the weekend, Kanye and his team apparently tried to get his name added to the ballot in Florida and South Carolina by getting signatures before the July 15th deadline but was unsuccessful in doing so and has called off his campaign, according to MYMag’s The Intelligencer, he decided to bow out gracefully.
Citing multiple campaign professionals, Intelligencer reported that Kanye had taken steps to have his name included on the ballot as a third-party candidate. The outlet had learned from somebody on Ye’s team that they would be spending time in Florida to get the required number of signatures to be added to the ballot. That would have meant 132,781 signatures in less than a week to hit the July 15 deadline.
Steve Kramer, who was hired by Kanye’s team to assist him in being added to the voting card, said that the rapper was “working over [the] weekend [in Florida], formalizing the FEC.” However, it looks like the plan was just too overwhelming because, according to Kramer, Kanye is now out of the race.
“He’s out,” he said. “I’ll let you know what I know once I get all our stuff canceled. We had over 180 people out there today.”
Kramer added that West’s newly-hired team was upset about the end of his campaign, stating that the mix of volunteers and paid workers were looking forward to his run.
“I have nothing good or bad to say about Kanye,” added Kramer. “Everyone has their personal decision about why they make decisions. Running for president has to be one of the hardest things for someone to actually contemplate at that level.”
