The horses are off to the races again as the United States enters its next presidential election cycle. As the first primaries draw to a close it is increasingly likely, bordering on inevitability, that there will be a rematch between the former and current presidents, something which has not happened in more than a century. For better or for worse, the public can expect old battles to be fought once again: issues on the economy, housing, LGBTQ rights, and immigration policy. This also means that the perennial issue of every presidential election is again raised: what to do with third-party candidates.
Given the return of such heavy hitters, the 2024 primaries have been more dramatic than expected. With Nikki Haley’s dogged resistance to Donald Trump’s momentum and long-shot Democratic candidate contenders running against Joe Biden, the two men will not be entering the general election with a united caucus. Of the two, Biden faces the challenge of tying together a disparate coalition as his left flank begins to split off to form independent, third-party candidates.
Despite being overshadowed by Jill Stein of the Green Party and RFKJr’ss nostalgia baiting, one candidate who stands out is the African-American intellectual and theologian Dr. Cornel West of the newly founded Justice For All party. Of all the third-party candidates running for president this November, West occupies the left-most niche of the political spectrum, campaigning on issues closest to the progressive movement with lofty pronouncements to match, including “Abolish Homelessness” and” “Nationalize the fossil fuel industry.”
Beneath West’s progressive wishlist lies an intensely idiosyncratic ideology combining Christian thought, populism, and classical socialist theory. This unsurprisingly excludes him from the two traditional parties. However, his beliefs and records give him unimpeachable progressive bona fides.
West has a long history of supporting progressive candidates, having initially supported Barack Obama in 2008 before becoming disillusioned with him and U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders before also becoming disillusioned with him. Disillusionment is something of a running theme for Cornel West and partly explains his refusal to work with the mainstream left, going so far as to call the Democratic party” crypto-fascists.“
Thus, West is stepping into what he perceives as a political vacuum opened up by the lack of a truly progressive candidate. Though the general election is too far out to see what kind of pull West has with voters, it’s safe to say that he will not be the one to walk away with 270 electoral votes. But that doesn’t mean he cannot determine the winner of the election.
Given West’s platform and rhetoric, if he is going to pull voters away from any major candidate, it’s going to be Biden. Polling shows that young, progressive voters are unenthused about a 2024 rematch and have soured on Biden.
As such, West can capitalize on GenZ’s apathy or antipathy towards Biden to invigorate his campaign. West has been especially bullish on Biden’s response and handling of the Israel-Hamas War. This message resonates with younger voters disproportionately compared to the rest of the population.
Siphoning off these votes from Biden could prove crucial in denying him reelection, given the incredibly narrow margins that Biden won several states in 2020. Ironically, 2024 could end up looking similar to the 2016 election, which saw Trump win several key states by narrow margins in part because just enough progressives voted for Jill Stein.
Given that Biden won states like Arizona, Wisconsin, and Georgia by margins in the tens of thousands, losing any support to third-party candidates could likely hand the states over to Trump in a plurality. With margins like these, West now faces the accusation that he is a “spoiled” candidate, a moniker he rejects. He puts forward the idea, however, that to vote for either of the major parties is to vote for either World War III or Civil War II.
What is left then is an independent candidate who is seemingly either ignorant of his prospects of winning in November or who simply doesn’t care about the effects of his candidacy. While his progressive ambitions are commendable, his party is not running candidates for the House or Senate, denying him the legislative support he will need to enact his policy ambitions. The challenge for Biden then is to offer a message that resonates and energizes progressive voters to maintain his coalition’s unity.
