Independent presidential candidate Cornel West is focusing his campaign efforts in Michigan to garner support from communities disenchanted with President Joe Biden, according to Politico. West plans to engage with Arab American voters in Dearborn, environmental activists in Flint, and connect with college students and indigenous populations, as outlined in plans shared with Politico.
“By speaking to Michiganders, we will be speaking to pretty much the entire country at the same time,” said Anthony Karefa Rogers-Wright, West’s co-campaign manager. “This is a very critical state. Whoever wins that state is going to be the president.”
Rogers-Wright emphasized their strategy, stating, “We’re following the lead of young folk and Arab Americans in a pivotal state who themselves have said they wouldn’t be voting for President Biden if the election was tomorrow. The same can be said by people in the environmental justice community.”
West, running as an unaffiliated independent after previous bids with the People’s Party and Green Party, aims to address Biden’s challenges with minority voters. Recent polling indicates a decline in Biden’s support among non-white voters in key swing states, including Michigan, where 22% of Black voters reportedly back Trump, marking a notable shift.
“People are looking for not just leadership, but they’re looking for statespersons,” West said. “They’re tired of these garden variety politicians.”
Moreover, Biden faces criticism for his stance on Israel’s strikes on Gaza, with West positioning himself as a candidate bringing “sanity and sensitivity” to the issue.
West stated, “We’re the only major candidate, I think, who’s bringing any kind of sanity and sensitivity to the suffering in Gaza. Just strikes me that all the other three major candidates are living in a Neolithic Age when it comes to dealing with what’s going on in the Middle East. They would take us back, and I’m the only one who would take us forward.”
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