(RightIsRight.co) – Believing they could even think of winning the presidency while GOP and Democrats are mainly the leading choices, independent candidate Cornel West recently announced that Black Lives Matter (BLM) leader Melina Abdullah will be his running mate for the 2024 election.
West, like independent Robert F. Kennedy Jr., needed a vice presidential choice to secure ballot access in various states, and has only gotten on the ticket in South Carolina, Utah, Alaska, and Oregon.
The candidate discussed his decision to choose Abdullah, the co-founder of BLM Los Angeles and the director of BLM Grassroots, as his running mate during an interview on The Tavis Smiley Show.
“I wanted somebody who’s heart, mind and soul is committed to the empowerment of poor and working peoples of all colors,” said West. “Melina has a history of longevity of putting her heart, mind and soul in the struggle.”
Abdullah told Smiley that she did not anticipate West asking her to be his running mate when she received the phone call last week. The BLM leader added that she “said yes immediately.”
The BLM leader said, “I’ve been keeping up with his campaign, been really, really inspired. I mean, a platform of truth, love, and justice? What kind of platform is that! How can you not get behind that platform?”
She continued, “And then, of course, I regard him and many of us regard him as one of the most brilliant people to ever walk this earth. And so, I’ve been following him and had been really enthusiastic about his candidacy. And just was excited to be able to share space with him, to be inspired by him, to sit in his wisdom.”
The candidate launched the “Justice for All Party” in late January to help the candidate get on the ticket in certain states “where it’s easier to gain access as a party, as opposed to independent.”
West first launched his presidential campaign as a People’s Party candidate before seeking the Green Party’s nomination in mid-June. The candidate later switched to run as an independent in early October, just days before Kennedy departed from the Democratic Party.
Green Party candidate Jill Stein is running for a third time in 2024 while the Libertarian Party will nominate a ticket in May, and the centrist group No Labels decided this week not to run a third-party candidate this cycle.
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