Kanye West Qualifies as Presidential Candidate in Utah

Kanye West attends the Ralph Lauren 50th Anniversary Event held at Bethesda Terrace in Central Park during New York Fashion Week in New York on Sept. 7, 2018. (Brent N. Clarke/Invision/AP, File)

SALT LAKE CITY—Rapper Kanye West has qualified to appear on Utah’s ballot this November as an unaffiliated presidential candidate, an elections official said Monday.

State Elections Director Justin Lee said his office has verified that West’s campaign gathered the necessary 1,000 signatures from registered voters required to appear on the ballot.

West, who once backed Republican President Donald Trump, announced last month that he had broken with Trump and would launch his own presidential bid. His campaign filed paperwork on July 15 with the Federal Election Commission.

In this Nov. 6, 2019, file photo, Kanye West attends the WSJ. Magazine 2019 Innovator Awards at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. (Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)

West has so far qualified in several states including Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Colorado. His effort to get on the ballot has been challenged in Wisconsin.

By Sophia Eppolito