A new report by FiveThirtyEight revealed that potential Green Party presidential candidate Cornel West may present a stumbling block to President Joe Biden’s chances for reelection in 2024.
The group said that as a third-party candidate, West could draw enough support away from Biden to greatly enhance former President Donald Trump’s chances of winning back the White House. It would only take a marginal tug of voters to possibly sway the election.
A FiveThirtyEight poll showed the danger to the incumbent.
In a hypothetical face-to-face matchup between Biden and Trump, the survey found that the two were consistently tied or the current president held a miniscule lead.
In other words, a statistical tie.
However, throw in a third-party candidate and the results shift significantly in favor of Trump. The reason is simple — it does not take a large swing in support in a close race to change the outcome.
Report Found Green Party Candidate Could Cause 'Nightmare Scenario' For Joe Biden In 2024
https://t.co/MSCr1Axu5r— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) July 16, 2023
And West appeared to be taking the battle straight at Biden. He recently accused the Democrat of “crimes against humanity,” particularly against Black Americans. He cited Biden’s support as a senator in 1994 for the federal “Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act.”
The federal legislation authorized the addition of 100,000 new police officers nationwide and earmarked $9.7 billion for construction of new prisons.
This, West claimed, led to the mass incarceration of minorities.
Former Trump advisor Kellyanne Conway told Fox News recently that West is “very likely” a larger stumbling block to Biden’s candidacy than Democratic rival Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
As she wisely noted, “even if you don’t become president, you, as a third-party candidate spoiler, can decide who is the president.”
West earlier declared his intention to become the People’s Party candidate for the White House. The activist then announced he was seeking the Green Party nomination for 2024 as well.
He said he looked to construct a “broad united front and coalition strategy.” The Green Party responded with a statement. “Dr. West is an important voice for social and economic justice in line with our party’s platform. We look forward to him participating in the nomination process.”
There has been no such announcement from the Biden camp.
