Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

catbyte

(34,169 posts)
Wed Aug 12, 2020, 10:21 AM Aug 2020

Kanye flops among Black voters

The rapper mounting a quixotic bid for the White House drew just 2 percent support in a POLITICO/Morning Consult poll.


Kanye West missed the deadline to file as a third party candidate in 10 states but has said he will rely on write-in ballots to make him competitive in states where his name is not printed on the ballot. | Lauren Petracca Ipetracca/The Post And Courier via AP

By MAYA KING and ALEX ISENSTADT

08/12/2020 06:00 AM EDT

Rapper and former Donald Trump supporter Kanye West is running for president with the backing of a handful of GOP operatives who are betting he can pull Black voters from former Vice President Joe Biden.

But Democrats aren’t sweating West at this point — and Republicans don’t view him as a boon to their cause, either. For good reason: In a new POLITICO/Morning Consult poll, West garnered 2 percent support overall among registered voters, 7 points behind the “no opinion” option. His support among African American voters is just as meager — 2 percent — and Biden’s 9-point national lead over Trump is unmoved with or without West on the ballot.

“I think a lot of people of color view Kanye’s bid for the presidency as a quixotic one, and they don’t see him as being legitimate for the office. It’s more of yet another Kanye publicity stunt,” said Ron Christie, a Black Republican strategist and former aide to Dick Cheney. "Democrats traditionally get 90-plus percent of the black vote. I think a lot of people are going to look at Kanye and just say, ‘I don’t think so.’”

The POLITICO/Morning Consult findings help explain why strategists from both parties said in interviews that they don’t see him as a factor in the race, at least not yet. West has successfully filed paperwork as a third-party candidate in fewer than a dozen states and Republicans in battleground states such as Wisconsin and Ohio have organized to get him on the ballot.

snip

https://www.politico.com/news/2020/08/12/kanye-west-flops-among-black-voters-393860

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Typical republicans insulting the intelligence of voters with lame-ass schemes. Every time a dumbass gop plot blows up in their faces an angel gets its wings.
15 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies

Mz Pip

(27,403 posts)
2. 2%
Wed Aug 12, 2020, 10:27 AM
Aug 2020

I wouldn’t be surprised if a good chunk of that % was made up of people just trolling the pollster.

Mike 03

(16,616 posts)
7. Good theory. I can definitely see young, obnoxious Trumpies who know full
Wed Aug 12, 2020, 10:57 AM
Aug 2020

well they are voting for Trump claiming to pollsters they are voting for Kanye to help him get "traction."

Initech

(99,909 posts)
3. When the entire thing is a setup and it backfires on you...
Wed Aug 12, 2020, 10:27 AM
Aug 2020

It's probably best to just let it go. Kanye is a joke of a candidate and after Trump, the last thing we need.

Dave Starsky

(5,914 posts)
5. The idea that Kanye would take Black votes from Biden is racist as hell.
Wed Aug 12, 2020, 10:34 AM
Aug 2020

And it's something only an idiot Trump cultist would believe.

Silent3

(15,018 posts)
6. I wonder how many among that 2%...
Wed Aug 12, 2020, 10:36 AM
Aug 2020

...would have been some of the rare black voters who'd have voted for Trump over Biden?

If it's nearly all conversion of Biden votes to Kanye votes, 2% isn't much, but it's enough to swing a tight election, and we often have very tight elections. Like the last one.

This election won't really be tight, if actual votes are counted, but cheating could make it tight. I still think Kanye is a joke and won't help Republicans in the end, but I'm not ready to completely dismiss some possible impact totally out of hand.

Mike 03

(16,616 posts)
8. I agree, 2% is worth worrying about. But I have a hunch, backed up by nothing,
Wed Aug 12, 2020, 10:58 AM
Aug 2020

that these are young white Trumpsters trolling pollsters.

Yet I completely agree 2% is not nothing.

bearsfootball516

(6,369 posts)
9. It's better if he's not an option, but even so, he's not going to get enough votes to make an impact
Wed Aug 12, 2020, 11:12 AM
Aug 2020

There aren’t any Biden voters who are going to switch to Kanye just because Kanye entered the race. They just don’t exist.

Fiendish Thingy

(15,366 posts)
10. Just remember, Trump won the Rust Belt states by 1% or less
Wed Aug 12, 2020, 11:15 AM
Aug 2020

All they need to do is peel off 10-20,000 votes for Kanye, and suppress enough of the rest to eke out a narrow win in the Rust belt again...unless Joe and Kamala can get to a double digit lead.

Otherwise, Kanye doesn’t even have to get half the votes Jill Stein did in the Rust belt.

Takket

(21,421 posts)
14. Don't like that the first sentence refers to him as a "former drumpf supporter"
Wed Aug 12, 2020, 01:34 PM
Aug 2020

The entire reason he’s doing this and the GOP is helping us because he’s trying to help drumpf. The writers of the article can’t possibly be that naive.

 

RhodeIslandOne

(5,042 posts)
15. Two weeks ago, some "pundit" was on Alex Witt' MSNBC show
Wed Aug 12, 2020, 01:44 PM
Aug 2020

She was an AA female, and this brainiac said "some black folks aren't sure about Joe Biden, and taking a look at Kanye...."

It was proof not "every voice" needs to be heard.

Latest Discussions»General Discussion»Kanye flops among Black v...