Cornel West Gets Boost From Republicans in Arizona

Independent presidential candidate Cornel West has received a boost from Republicans in Arizona, according to a new report.

On Monday, the Associated Press (AP) reported that several Republican-connected lawyers sought to recover an effort to get West on the 2024 presidential election ballot in Arizona.

As the deadline to submit paperwork approached, two prominent Republican lawyers in the state and a GOP attorney working on West’s ballot efforts learned that two would-be electors—Jerry Judie and Denisha Mitchell—were no longer interested in serving.

This prompted a flurry of text messages and phone calls to salvage the effort. When that failed, two Republican lawyers visited Judie’s and Mitchell’s homes, seemingly to persuade them to reconsider, the AP wrote.

On Monday morning, the Arizona Secretary of State’s Office said that West missed the deadline to file paperwork in order to appear on the state’s ballot in the 2024 election.

The effort by Republicans to help West get on the ballot in Arizona for the 2024 presidential election relates to a possible plan to subvert the results of the election and to sway voters away from voting for the Democratic nominee, according to the AP.

The AP also obtained text messages sent between the lawyers and the two would-be electors. In one, Judie, a 62-year-old retired Phoenix park ranger said, “I am officially no longer interested in being elector.”

While speaking with the AP, Judie said he has supported West since his 20s and expressed excitement earlier this year after learning that he was planning to run for president. Judie then sought to become an elector for West, but later changed his mind on the situation when President Joe Biden announced that he was stepping down from the 2024 presidential race.

Judie told the AP that his stance changed when Vice President Kamala Harris took over as the Democratic nominee after Biden dropped out.

“That changed everything for me, my family, and the people that I know. It was like magic,” Judie said.

Arizona law requires independent presidential candidates to present a slate of electors who would cast Electoral College votes on their behalf. After Judie informed campaign operatives he no longer wished to represent West’s campaign, he received multiple phone calls from individuals involved in the effort, according to call records reviewed by the AP. Two Republican lawyers also visited his home in an attempt to secure West’s spot on the ballot.

The AP also obtained a voicemail to Judie from attorney Paul Hamrick, which said, “I am sorry…we have been calling the crap out of you.”

“The reason we have been trying to get in touch with you is we found out in the last 24 hours we have got to have everybody sign a letter that Dr. West has also signed,” the voicemail reportedly said.

Judie said that after receiving the voicemail, two people showed up at his door seeking to talk. He didn’t answer, suspecting they were there to discuss West’s campaign, but someone he knew spoke with them. The visitors identified themselves as Amanda Reeve and Brett Johnson, two prominent lawyers from the firm Snell & Wilmer.

Republicans and their allies have pushed to get West on the ballot in key states like Arizona, Wisconsin, Virginia, North Carolina, Nebraska, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Maine. The strategy is aimed at boosting former President Donald Trump’s chances by drawing votes away from Kamala Harris. West doesn’t need to win any state to act as a spoiler—just a few thousand votes in battleground states could make the difference.

It is currently unclear if West was able to secure a spot on the ballot in Arizona for the 2024 presidential election.