Who are the declared candidates running for president in 2024?

By Ryan Foley, Christian Post Reporter
College professor Cornel West arrives for the Time 100 Gala in New York, May 5, 2009.
College professor Cornel West arrives for the Time 100 Gala in New York, May 5, 2009. | (Photo: Reuters/Lucas Jackson)
11. Cornel West 

Cornel West, an outspoken political activist and academic, announced his candidacy for President of the United States on the People’s Party ticket on June 5. In a Twitter post, West declared that he is “running for truth and justice as a presidential candidate for the People’s Party to reintroduce America to the best of itself.”

He summarized his campaign platform as “fighting to end poverty, mass incarceration, ending wars and ecological collapse, guaranteeing housing, health care, education and living wages for all.” He elaborated on the philosophy underlying his presidential bid in a video accompanying the tweet, which includes several progressive policy goals including abortion access and universal healthcare.

“I care about you,” he proclaimed. “I care about the quality of your life, I care about whether you have access to a job with a living wage, decent housing, women having control over their bodies, healthcare for all, deescalating the destruction of the planet, [and] the destruction of American democracy.”

West expressed his discontent with both political parties and the frontrunners for their respective presidential nominations. “Neither political party wants to tell the truth about Wall Street, about Ukraine, about the Pentagon, about Big Tech,” he said.

West’s announcement video featured a clip of him describing the choices facing the American people as “neofascists like Brother Trump or milquetoast neoliberals like Brother Biden” in a conversation with Bill Maher on HBO’s “Real Time.”

According to Ballot Access News, the People’s Party only has ballot access in Florida. The website reports that “The People’s Party and the West Campaign (assuming he receives the nomination) will need to obtain 674,072 valid signatures in 45 states and the District of Columbia, plus pay filing fees or become organized in four states, in order to appear on the November 2024 ballot in all 50 states and DC.”

Perhaps with the challenges associated with ballot access in mind, West took to Twitter on June 13 to signal his intention to pursue “the nomination of the Green Party for President of the United States” as part of a “broad United Front and coalition strategy.” He expressed gratitude to “the volunteers of the People’s Party for the initial launch.”

As of April 2024, the Green Party has ballot access in a much larger number of states than the People’s Party. It already has ballot access in 20 states and Washington, D.C. The total number of electoral votes in the states where the Green Party has ballot access adds up to 256, leaving it short of the 270 required to win.

However, the Green Party is tied up in legal action over its ballot access in four additional states, which contain a combined 52 electoral votes. The Green Party defines its efforts to secure ballot access as “in progress” in three additional states that have a combined 23 electoral votes. The minor political party does not currently have ballot access in the remaining 23 states, which have a combined 207 electoral votes.

In an Oct. 5 post on X, formerly known as Twitter, West announced that he was dropping his bid for the Green Party nomination and “running as an Independent candidate for President of the United States to end the iron grip of the ruling class and ensure true democracy!” As of March 28, West has secured ballot access in five states with a combined 36 electoral votes: Alaska, Colorado, Oregon, South Carolina and Utah. On April 11, West announced Black Lives Matter activist and professor Melina Abdullah as his running mate.  

Ryan Foley is a reporter for The Christian Post. He can be reached at: [email protected]

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