Kanye West has filed as an official presidential candidate in Wisconsin, the Boston Herald reports. The Jesus Is King rapper reportedly submitted his 2,000 signatures from Wisconsin voters on Tuesday (Aug. 4), which is required to be placed on the ballot as an independent candidate.
According to the Wisconsin Elections Commission, Kanye and his running mate Michelle Tidball listed themselves as candidates of The Birthday Party. The Commission staff will be reviewing Ye’s signatures in the coming days to make sure they are valid and to determine whether or not he and Tidball meet the other qualifications needed to appear on the November ballot. The Herald reports that the Commission could potentially challenge his signatures.
This week, Kaye also submitted the necessary signatures to appear on the ballot in Arkansas and previously filled out the paperwork to get on Oklahoma’s ballot. He recently withdrew his petition to appear as a candidate on New Jersey’s ballot.
VICE News reports that Ye’s signatures were submitted in Wisconsin by Lane Ruhland, a former legal counsel for the Republican Party and a current legal representative for Donald Trump. Ruhland recently supported Trump’s campaign in its lawsuit against Democratic super-PAC Priorities USA over a political TV ad.
Kanye separated himself from Trump in his wide-ranging Forbes interview, where he said he was “taking off the red hat.”
“I’m not saying Trump’s in my way, he may be a part of my way,” he told the outlet. “And Joe Biden? Like come on man, please. You know? Obama’s special. Trump’s special. We say Kanye West is special. America needs special people that lead. Bill Clinton? Special. Joe Biden’s not special.”
According to TMZ, Kanye is now working to get on the ballots in Idaho, Utah, Wyoming and Ohio, the latter of which has a Wednesday deadline (Aug. 5). He previously missed the state deadlines for Nebraska, New York and Maryland.