COLUMBUS, Ohio — COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Kanye West filed his petition Wednesday to appear as a presidential candidate on Ohio’s ballot in November, the office of Ohio’s election chief said.
A representative for the rapper submitted 14,886 signatures and other paperwork to the Office of the Ohio Secretary of State for West and running mate Michelle Tidball.
In order to qualify to run as an independent candidate in Ohio, West will need 5,000 valid signatures from registered voters in the state.
A former supporter of Republican President Donald Trump, West broke with Trump and announced his own presidential bid last month. His campaign filed paperwork on July 15 with the Federal Election Commission.
The filing in Ohio comes a day after West withdrew his petition for candidacy in New Jersey.
West also filed signatures to appear on the ballots in Wisconsin and Arkansas this week.
But the status of West’s presidential campaign and whether he is truly seeking the White House remains unclear.
Kim Kardashian West last month asked for empathy for her husband and said he is bipolar.
Last month in South Carolina, Kanye West delivered an unconventional campaign introduction speech during which he proposed a $1 million payout to mothers and decried Harriet Tubman for her work on the Underground Railroad.
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Farnoush Amiri is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
