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MoveOn Calls on Cornel West to Reject Republican Support

NBC News: “Operatives with GOP ties are helping Cornel West get on the ballot in a key state”

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Following news that Republican operatives are working to put third-party presidential candidate Dr. Cornel West on the ballot in North Carolina to boost Donald Trump’s chances at reelection, MoveOn is calling on Dr. West to refuse assistance and donations from the Republican Party. 

“One can appreciate Dr. West’s significant contributions as a theologian, scholar, and firebrand political activist and, at the same time, recognize that there is zero justification for accepting help from Republicans to aid his presidential campaign,” said MoveOn Chief Communications Officer Joel Payne. “Shady Republican operatives are helping Dr. West get on the ballot to help the Trump campaign. As an independent, progressive leader with a vested interest in protecting our democracy, if Dr. West doesn’t reject all right-wing campaign donations and support, it seriously calls his motives into question.”

According to documents obtained by NBC, the Justice for All Party authorized three people to pick up and drop off signatures for them in North Carolina, a state that’s already expected to be a tight race for President Joe Biden. All three individuals are current or past employees of a Colorado-based Republican political firm called Blitz Canvassing, which has generated more than $14.6 million in payments for Never Back Down, the main Super PAC that supported Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. 

The slew of “volunteers” that Blitz recruited have been gathering outside Trump events in North Carolina, asking voters to sign the petitions to siphon votes from President Joe Biden to boost Trump’s chances. Vote splitting could reach historic levels this year, which could cause a big problem for President Biden in November. 

One North Carolina Democratic strategist, Doug Heyl, called it “beyond fishy.”

Read the story from NBC News here. 

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MoveOn is celebrating 25 years of people-powered progress this year. For more than a generation, MoveOn has built independent political power and mobilized the left to elect Democrats and enact progressive change. MoveOn is a bulwark against the radical right, channeling our collective voices to drive progressive foreign policy, protect democracy, and advance justice for all.