Kanye West petitions to appear on ballot in Iowa

Representatives for Kanye West’s presidential campaign delivered petitions to the Iowa secretary of state Friday for him to appear on the ballot in November. 

Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate tweeted that he will “review the petitions to ensure they meet the minimum requirements.”

I can confirm that representatives from the Kanye West presidential campaign just delivered nominating petitions to our office. We will review the petitions to ensure they meet the minimum requirements. @kanyewest #Election2020

— Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate (@IowaSOS) August 14, 2020

West’s campaign, which is reportedly being aided by GOP strategists, has already filed paperwork to appear on the ballot in a handful of states, including Wisconsin and Ohio.

West is a former supporter of President Trump who famously visited the White House in 2018. West said in an interview earlier this month that he is “not denying” that his campaign could do damage to former Vice President Joe Biden’s White House bid.

However, it’s unclear how much of an impact West will have even if he does appear on a substantial number of ballots — a Politico-Morning Consult national poll released Wednesday showed him clocking in at just 2 percent among likely voters overall, as well as among Black voters.

Should he appear on the ballot in Iowa, West will be competing in a state that Democrats had all but written off at the start of the 2020 cycle but has become increasingly competitive. The Real Clear Politics polling average shows Trump just 1.7 points ahead of Biden in the Hawkeye State.

The award-winning rapper has caught flak for a litany of controversial comments, including that slavery was a “choice” and that Harriet Tubman “never actually freed the slaves, she just had them work for other white people.”