President Joe Biden has largely ignored Green Party presidential candidate Cornel West despite being warned of his popularity among progressives, The Hill reported Monday.
West, who has held professorships at both Harvard and Yale universities, is running to Biden's left, taking issue with his perceived failures in carrying out a progressive agenda.
"They ignore him at their own peril," former Democratic lawmaker and congressional candidate Nina Turner told the outlet.
"He is running, and that should be acknowledged and respected even if they don't like it," added Turner, who worked with West on the 2020 presidential campaign of Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.
The Democrats calling attention to West's run have pointed to Jill Stein's candidacy in 2016, which might have drawn away enough potential Democratic voters in several key states to give Donald Trump the presidency.
An analysis of the 2016 election by political science professors Kyle Kopko and Christopher Devine reported by Vox found that the Democratic Party might have picked off several states had Stein not run.
Turner said she saw further opportunities for West to take on some of the minority vote that Biden appears to be bleeding.
A compilation of polls for The New York Times conducted by Siena College from 2022 to 2023 found that Biden was underperforming among nonwhite voters, leading Trump in a hypothetical rematch just 53% to 28%.
That is down from 2021, when he had the backing of 70% of nonwhite voters.
"Imagine the level of arrogance it takes to ignore this Black man [West] and at the same time expect the Black community in particular to do the same," Turner said.
West, she believes, "uniquely captures and communicates the pain that 'everyday people' are feeling. He unabashedly calls out this injustice and is very clear about his intentions to force the arch to bend towards justice."
Luca Cacciatore ✉
Luca Cacciatore, a Newsmax general assignment writer, is based in Arlington, Virginia, reporting on news and politics.
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