Back in July, rapper Kanye West announced his plans to run for president of the United States under the "Birthday Party." The man who was once a Trump supporter cited his Christian faith and a desire to unify the nation as his reason for running. His first campaign event was in South Carolina, where he encouraged Palmetto State residents to help get him on the state's ballot.
Federal Election Commission (FEC) filings show West spent nearly $6 million of his own personal money on his campaign for August alone. According to business Insider, West loaned his campaign $6.8 million. He did, however, have $11,000 in contributions, POLITICO noted. The rapper's campaign spent $5.9 million over the month and has an outstanding debt to consultants totaling $1.2 million.
Most of West's campaign expenses, according to POLITICO and Business Insider, have been related to getting on the ballot in various states, something that is tough to do this late in the game.
Despite the amount of personal money the rapper has spent so far, he won't be on the ballot in Wisconsin. According to election officials, Kanye's campaign missed the 5 p.m. deadline by a whopping 14 seconds, Breitbart reported.
A Brown County Circuit Court judge ruled the election office was correct in keeping West off the ballot. The campaign, however, has filed a lawsuit challenging the ruling.
Democrats, however, are concerned about Green Party presidential ticket Howie Hawkins and Angela Walker. As of now, the pair aren't on the ballots. The election commission was deadlocked on whether or not Hakins/Walker submitted enough valid signatures from voters to be put on the ballot, the Associated Press reported.
Both Hawkins and West can siphon votes from Biden. In a swing state that Trump took by a narrow margin – less than one percent – the number of candidates on a ballot is a big thing. Having more options hurts Biden's chances of winning and helps the president.