Democratic strategists are growing concerned that Dr. Cornel West, a philosophy professor and media personality, could threaten President Joe Biden’s path to reelection by running under the Green Party.
Biden’s supporters are pointing to former Green Party nominee Jill Stein’s 2016 campaign, which some have blamed for Hillary Clinton’s narrow loss, as a cautionary tale about third party “spoiler” candidates, according to The Hill. While some strategists believe Biden’s campaign is safe from the third party threat because of its openness to more left-wing ideas, others fret that West could pull enough votes from Biden to cost him reelection.
“Get them in a fucking room and ask what they want and include it in the platform,” one Democratic campaign strategist said, according to The Hill. “I think [progressives will] be happy if he moves Biden[’s] rhetoric left.”
In 2016, the Green Party played an outsized role in tipping the election to Donald Trump.
Now, with Cornel West as their likely nominee, they could easily do it again.
Risky business,— David Axelrod (@davidaxelrod) July 7, 2023
“This is not the time in order to experiment. This is not the time to play around on the margins,” DNC Chairman Jaime Harrison said, according to the outlet.
In 2016 Stein won more votes than former President Donald Trump’s victory margin in several key states, though it’s unclear whether her supporters would have voted for Clinton if Stein weren’t on the ballot.
“In 2016, the Green Party played an outsized role in tipping the election to Donald Trump,” David Axelrod, former President Obama’s chief strategist, wrote on Twitter Friday. “Now, with Cornel West as their likely nominee, they could easily do it again. Risky business.”
Other strategists have downplayed the risk of West derailing Biden’s campaign, suggesting that his concerns can be addressed by Biden.
“In 2016, it was clear to me and other organizers that a significant number of voters were unwilling to vote for Hillary Clinton because of her record supporting disastrous wars and were willing to vote Green Party as a protest vote, under the assumption Clinton would win anyway,” Alexander McCoy, a progressive operative and organizer, told The Hill. “I don’t think that will happen again to the same scale, because Joe Biden ended the war in Afghanistan and has kept U.S. troops out of new conflicts like Ukraine.”
“Dr. West and his supporters’ ideas and frustrations deserve to be heard, but hopefully, that doesn’t come at the cost of the worst possible candidate winning again because of our antiquated electoral system,” Hassan Martini, executive director of No Dem Left Behind, told The Hill. “Many of West’s ideas already have a home within our party, and our party winning enough elections is key to making those ideas a reality.”
Biden and West did not respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s requests for comment.
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org.