This week, the Associated Press reported that the GOP continues to prop up third-party candidates like Jill Stein and Cornel West to spoil the election for Donald Trump. This new reporting fits into a larger pattern we’ve seen play out over this cycle of Republicans looking to find stalking horses. With an inability to make Trump more popular, the GOP is hoping to siphon off votes from Vice President Kamala Harris by jumbling the field.  

In response, DNC Senior Adviser Mary Beth Cahill said the following: 

“Voters will not be fooled by the GOP playing games with our democracy. A third party candidate won’t become president, but one of their spoiler campaigns can help decide who wins. That’s why the GOP is working around the clock to prop up Jill Stein and Cornel West. We will continue to call out Republican antics and hold spoiler campaigns accountable. Only two candidates have a path to 270 electoral votes, and the only way to stop Donald Trump is by voting for Vice President Harris.” 

Jill Stein’s Connection to the GOP and Republican Efforts to Prop Up Her Candidacy 

Trump praised Jill Stein’s spoiler candidacy, saying he likes her “very much” because “she takes 100% from them.”

Donald Trump at Pennsylvania Rally in June: “Cornel West, he’s one of my favorite candidates. Cornel West and I like her also, Jill Stein, I like her very much. You know why? She takes 100% from them. He takes 100%.”

Steve Bannon admitted that “the path to victory here is clearly maximizing the reach of these left-wing alternatives,” adding, “the more exposure these guys get, the better it is for us.”

New York Times: ​​“In the multicandidate race, Mr. Trump led by a single percentage point; Mr. Biden led Mr. Trump by three percentage points in a hypothetical head-to-head race. ‘The path to victory here is clearly maximizing the reach of these left-wing alternatives,’ said Stephen K. Bannon, the former White House chief strategist who also served as Mr. Trump’s campaign chairman in 2016. ‘No Republican knows that oil production under Biden is higher than ever. But Jill Stein’s people do,’ added Mr. Bannon. ‘Stein is furious about the oil drilling. The college kids are furious about it. The more exposure these guys get, the better it is for us.’”

MAGA activist and GOP operative Scott Presler said it was his goal to gain ballot access for Stein in Pennsylvania.

New York Times: “Other Trump supporters are trying to help third-party and independent candidates with the expensive and arduous process of gathering the signatures needed to get on state ballots. Scott Presler, the conservative activist whom Lara Trump said she wanted as an early hire at the Republican National Committee, publicly reached out on social media to Ms. Stein and Cornel West, a left-wing academic who is running for president as an independent, to offer his help in collecting signatures to get them on the ballot.”

Synapse Group— a longtime Republican operative’s firm— gathered and submitted signatures for ballot access on behalf of Jill Stein in New Hampshire. 

Associated Press: Jefferson Thomas, a longtime Republican operative from Colorado, submitted petition signatures that his firm, The Synapse Group, gathered on behalf of Stein in New Hampshire, records show. 

GOP Efforts to Prop Up Cornel West 

Trump has praised Cornel West’s spoiler candidacy and says West is “one of [his] favorite candidates.” 

Donald Trump at Pennsylvania Rally in June: “Cornel West, he’s one of my favorite candidates.” 

Cornel West received the maximum donation from Harlon Crow — the controversial, conservative billionaire who called West a “good friend.” West continued to defend the contribution after returning it due to criticism. 

The Hill: “Independent presidential candidate Cornel West said Friday he returned a controversial donation from Harlan Crow — the billionaire with controversial links to Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. ‘How sad that perceptions so quickly triumph over truth in our decadent culture,’ West said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. ‘This holds in our major catastrophe in the Middle East where the rich humanity of Palestinians is rendered invisible. It also holds at home in the minor scandal about Harlan Crow’s donation to my campaign.’ ‘He is a staunch anti-Trump Republican who has ‘Never Forget’ collections of tyrants (Stalin, Mao, Hitler, and many others) and patriotic collections of Washington, Jefferson, and Lincoln,’ West continued. ‘Does this disqualify him from contributing to my campaign? Most people holler yes, I say no.’ Still, he said, he decided to return the money. The news comes after West received a $3,300 donation from the Republican megadonor in August, according to Federal Election Commission filings. The funds came in just weeks before West switched from the Green Party to an independent bid.”

To spoil the election for Donald Trump, Republican operatives have worked to help Cornel West gain ballot access in Arizona, Wisconsin, Virginia, Nebraska, North Carolina,  Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Maine. 

Associated Press: “Republicans and their allies have worked to get West on the ballot in Arizona, Wisconsin, Virginia, North Carolina, Nebraska, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Maine, all in the hope that West will help boost former President Donald Trump’s chances of winning later this year by pulling support from Harris. West does not need to win a state to serve as a spoiler candidate — a few thousand votes in battleground states could be decisive.”

In Arizona, a dozen paid operatives linked to the GOP-affiliated firm Wells Marketing LLC helped Cornel West gain ballot access. 

NBC News: “A dozen paid operatives registered with Arizona’s secretary of state on Sunday to collect signatures on behalf of left-wing presidential candidate Cornel West, listing their employer as a Republican-leaning firm that recently worked for GOP House candidate Blake Masters. Arizona, unlike most states, requires paid or out-of-state petition-gatherers to register with the state. On their public registrations, some of circulators working to help West get on the ballot in Arizona struggled to spell his name, listing it as ‘Carnel west’ or ‘Cornelle West.’  All checked boxes indicating they are out of state and that they are being paid. All listed Wells Marketing LLC — or some variation, with a few misspellings — as the company they are working for.  It’s unclear who is paying them. Wells Marketing did not immediately respond to requests for comment.” 

Wells Marketing is closely affiliated with Mark Jacoby, who was previously convicted of voter registration fraud and who has a long history of deceptive tactics and unethical behavior. 

Associated Press: “Last month, more than 80 paid out-of-state signature gathers descended on the pivotal battleground of Arizona to collect signatures for West, state records show. Many of the workers listed Wells Marketing, a mysterious Missouri limited liability company, as their employer. The company, which didn’t respond to a request for comment, is closely affiliated with Mark Jacoby, a signature gathering operative from California with a longstanding reputation for using deceptive tactics and who was convicted in 2009 of voter registration fraud, court records show.”

People Over Party – a nonprofit led by an attorney with ties to the GOP and which has worked with GOP-affiliated canvassing firms – has pushed to get Cornel West on the ballot in six states. 

Associated Press: “Hamrick serves as counsel for the Virginia-based nonprofit People Over Party, which has pushed to get West on the ballot in Arizona, Maine, Minnesota, Pennsylvania and Virginia, as well as North Carolina, records show. […] Though he insists he is not a Republican, Hamrick voted in Alabama’s Republican primary in 2002, 2006 and 2010, according to state voting records maintained by the political data firm L2. He was tapped briefly in 2011 to work for the Alabama state Senate’s Republican majority. And since 2015, according to federal campaign finance disclosures, he has contributed only to GOP causes, including $2,500 to the Alabama Republican Party and $3,300 to Georgia Rep. Mike Collins, a Republican who has trafficked in conspiracy theories. […] In North Carolina, People Over Party, worked with Blitz Canvassing and Campaign & Petition Management — two firms that routinely work for the GOP — to gather signatures for West. Hamrick later responded in writing on behalf of workers for the two companies after the state election board opened its inquiry.”

Attorneys with “deep ties” to the GOP— Amanda Reeve, Brett Johnson, and Paul Hamrick— barraged West electors in Arizona who said they no longer wanted to fulfill the role. One West elector in Arizona, Denisha Mitchell, says that the form registering her as an elector was forged. 

Associated Press: “Mitchell said after the AP story was published Friday — in which said she ‘didn’t even know what an elector was’ and that the paperwork was ‘forged’ and riddled with errors — she received a call from someone who had been handling the West petition work. She missed the call, but when she called back, she was connected to Hamrick.  Hamrick, an Alabama-based attorney, said the allegations against him were ‘false’ when reached Sunday night, but declined to comment further.  Mitchell’s and Judie’s cases are the latest examples of the dubious tactics used to get West on ballots nationwide.  Mitchell, who had been drawn to West’s progressive message before she learned Republican-aligned operatives were working to get him on the ballot, told the AP on Friday that she was unaware who filled out the paperwork in her name, calling it ‘forged.’ She and her husband previously worked for a signature-gathering contractor called Wells Marketing, collecting signatures to get an initiative on the ballot that would raise the wages of tipped workers in Arizona.  Wells Marketing, a mysterious Missouri limited liability company, was also leading the effort to gather the signatures needed to get West on the ballot in Arizona.”

Multiple Cornel West electors in Arizona are registered Republicans, one of whom was convicted of manslaughter. 

Associated Press: “Rothgeb, who could not be reached for comment, is a registered Republican, as are two other electors for West, voting records show. Two additional electors listed in the state filings are not registered to vote at the addresses provided for them, records show.” 

Associated Press: “But her story is not the only unusual one among the slate of electors for West.  One of them, Elizabeth Rothgeb, pleaded guilty to manslaughter after accepting a plea deal stemming from the killing of her then-husband with an ax in 1998. She spent 10 years in prison and was released on Christmas Eve 2010, according to online records from the state prison system.  Rothgeb, who could not be reached for comment, is a registered Republican, as are two other electors for West, voting records show. Two additional electors listed in the state filings are not registered to vote at the addresses provided for them, records show.”

In Georgia, Cornel West’s ballot access efforts were advanced by a member of the Republican National Lawyers Association whose firm received payment for services to the Republican National Committee. 

Michigan Advance: “Other attorneys for West with GOP connections include Bryan Tyson, also a member of the RNLA, who has represented West’s interests in Georgia. Tyson is a partner with the Atlanta-based Election Law Group, which has received $60,000 this year for services to the Republican National Committee.”

In Michigan, John Bursch – an attorney whose firm was paid $25,000 by  Trump’s campaign in November 2020 for “recount: legal consulting” and who now works as a lawyer for the conservative legal group that helped overturn Roe v. Wade – fought a challenge to West’s placement on the state ballot.

 Associated Press: “In Michigan, John Bursch, a senior lawyer for the Alliance Defending Freedom, the conservative legal group that helped overturn Roe v. Wade, fought a challenge to West’s placement on the ballot. Bursch’s firm, Bursch Law PLLC, was paid $25,000 by Trump’s campaign in November 2020 for ‘RECOUNT: LEGAL CONSULTING,’ according to campaign finance disclosures. Bursch did not respond to a request for comment.” 

In Wisconsin, four people employed by GOP-aligned political canvassing firm Blair Group Consulting gathered signatures to help Cornel West gain ballot access. 

USA Today: “Liberal activist Cornel West’s efforts to get his name on the ballot in Wisconsin as an independent presidential candidate received a boost from Republican operatives who helped collect petition signatures for his candidacy.  The involvement underscores how allies of Republican nominee Donald Trump have worked to lift the candidacies of third-party candidates to help the former president’s chances in the November election in closely contested battleground states.  Four individuals employed at the Republican-aligned political canvasing firm Blair Group Consulting worked as circulators who gathered signatures in support of West’s candidacy in Wisconsin, according to petitions submitted with the Wisconsin Elections Commission this month and reviewed by USA TODAY.”

In North Carolina, three operatives who are current or past employees of GOP political firm Blitz Canvassing collected signatures to get West on the ballot.  

NBC News: “Emails from elections officials, obtained through a request under North Carolina’s Public Records Law, show the pro-West Justice for All Party authorized three people to pick up and drop off signatures for them statewide — and all three are current or past employees of a Colorado-based Republican political firm called Blitz Canvassing. Blitz Canvassing has worked for numerous Republican House and Senate candidates and took in more than $14.6 million in payments working for Never Back Down, the main super PAC that supported former GOP presidential candidate and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, according to campaign finance reports.”

Prominent Republicans complained and took legal action against the North Carolina Board of Elections after Cornel West was initially denied ballot access.

NBC News: “The Republican National Committee and Trump’s campaign blasted the decision, calling it ‘election interference’ and threatening retribution. ‘Those who have engaged in these un-American acts must be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law and receive the harshest punishment possible so these injustices will never be repeated,’ Trump campaign communications director Steven Cheung said in a statement.”

Carolina Journal: “Presidential candidate Cornel West, Democratic operative Marc Elias, and the Republican Party all want a say in the ballot access lawsuit involving West’s Justice for All Party. […] The North Carolina Republican Party and Republican National Committee filed a brief supporting JFA’s ballot access efforts.”

News & Observer: “Supporters of Cornel West’s third-party presidential campaign sued the North Carolina State Board of Elections on Monday after it denied ballot access to West’s new party. […] The lawyer bringing the suit, Phillip Strach, frequently represents Republican legislative leaders in court and has recently defended them in gerrymandering lawsuits and challenges to stricter election laws. His law firm, Nelson Mullins Riley and Scarborough, has been paid tens of thousands of dollars for legal services by the Republican National Committee, North Carolina Republican Party and National Republican Congressional Committee in the last several years.”

In Pennsylvania, a prominent Republican attorney— Matthew Haverstick— worked to gain Cornel West ballot access. 

Washington Post: “[…] a lawyer with deep Republican Party ties is working to help independent candidate Cornel West get on it. […] Meanwhile, a lawyer with longstanding ties to Republican candidates and causes went to court to argue that the Secretary of State’s office under Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro was wrong to reject West’s paperwork. ‘I see no good reason for Mr. West to be kept off the ballot or Pennsylvanians otherwise prevented from voting for him,’ the lawyer, Matt Haverstick, said in an interview. Haverstick declined to say who hired him or why.” 

In Virginia, Republican-tied signature gatherers were witnessed using deceptive tactics to help West gain ballot access. 

Associated Press: “The GOP-linked signature collection effort on West’s behalf isn’t limited to North Carolina. Signature gatherers in suburban Washington were witnessed asking people in a Target parking lot to sign a petition to ‘get Donald Trump off the ballot,’ NBC4 reported. The signatures were actually being collected to help get West on the Virginia ballot, and one of the workers said they would be handed off to the state GOP, the TV station reported.”

NBC News4: “There’s an effort in Virginia to put a third-party presidential candidate on the ballot, but some of the signatures may have been collected under false pretenses. A group in Northern Virginia with clipboards and petitions asking people if they wanted to sign to ‘get Donald Trump off the ballot’ told News4 it was actually gathering signatures to get Dr. Cornel West on the ballot. […] The group collecting signatures for West would not say who enlisted it to go to Virginia or why some of them were misleading voters about the purpose of the petitions. ‘That’s very unfortunate and a lot of times people do lie but you can only go off based what people tell you, and you are supposed to read everything,’ said Precious Edmonds, who signed the petition believing it was to get Trump off the ballot.” 

Cornel West’s campaign doesn’t have a problem with Republicans propping up his ballot access efforts; his campaign is broke and can’t afford it on their own. 

Associated Press: “In a brief interview, West expressed ambivalence about Republican efforts to help him, which Democrats fear could benefit Donald Trump by siphoning away left-leaning voters who would probably support the Democratic nominee otherwise. ‘So much of American politics is highly gangster-like activity,’ West told The Associated Press on Monday. ‘I have no knowledge of who they are or anything — none whatsoever. We just want to get on that ballot. And that’s the difficult thing.’  The work by the GOP attorneys appears to be part of a broader effort by conservative activists and Republican-aligned operatives across the country to push West’s candidacy and subvert the integrity of the ballot in the months leading up to November’s presidential election.”