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Kanye Has a Senior GOP Strategist Helping Him Get on the Ballot in Colorado

“Would you help me get Kanye West on the ballot in Colorado? No, I am not joking, and I realize this is hilarious,” she wrote.
Cameron Joseph
Washington, US
Kanye West attends the 2020 Vanity Fair Oscar Party at Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts on February 09, 2020 in Beverly Hills, California.

A top Colorado GOP strategist is helping Kanye West to get on the ballot in her state, the latest in a series of Republicans who have stepped up to help the hip-hop star in his odd presidential bid.

Rachel George, a longtime Republican operative in Colorado, sent an email to at least one other local GOP strategist on Tuesday asking them to sign West’s Presidential Electors' Acceptance of Nomination form so he can appear on the 2020 ballot in Colorado.

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George begins the email by asking for “the most random favor”: Would they be willing to serve as an Electoral College representative for Kanye West?

It’s clear from the tone of the email, obtained by VICE News, that she thinks it’s a rather funny, last-minute effort to mess with Joe Biden and Democrats.

“I have the most random favor to ask of you ever… would you help me get Kanye West on the ballot in Colorado? No, I am not joking, and I realize this is hilarious,” she wrote.

Later, George says she’s looking for operatives who are “in on the joke” to help West get on the ballot.

George, who now runs her own firm, RBG Communications, has previously held a variety of positions with Republican campaigns and operatives, including a three-year stint as communications director for then-Rep. Cory Gardner. Gardner is now a senator facing an uphill battle for reelection in the blue-trending state. She’s also married to Andy George, another longtime GOP operative in the state. Both have spent more than a decade immersed in Republican politics.

George’s Twitter feed reads as a paean to Gardner, with occasional defenses of Trump.

In the email, George makes clear that West’s campaign is trying to keep its inner workings out of the public eye. West’s nascent campaign has so far refused to engage in a serious manner with reporters, a sign they don’t want their efforts scrutinized too closely.

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“A reporter could request [the form] and call you asking why you signed,” she wrote in the email. “But you would just ignore that call and let me know, and the campaign would handle it.”

Republicans have watched giddily as West weighed a potential 2020 bid, hoping he might draw crucial votes away from Biden and boost President Trump’s reelection chances. In recent days, there’s been mounting evidence of a coordinated effort by GOP operatives, some with ties to the Trump campaign, to make sure that West does qualify in key swing states.

It’s unclear how directly involved West is in this process — or how much clear thought he’s put into the campaign taking shape around him. West’s rambling, partially incoherent campaign launch speech in South Carolina led to public speculation about his mental health, and his wife, Kim Kardashian, recently posted on instagram about West’s bipolar disorder and asked for compassion from the public.

It’s easy to get on the ballot in Colorado — presidential campaigns just pay a fee and find nine registered voters to sign a public document pledging to vote for their candidate if they win the Electoral College. But from the email, it’s clear exactly how last-minute the efforts to get West on the ballot have been.

George didn’t respond to requests for comment, nor did Gregg Keller, another longtime GOP operative who’s been linked to West’s campaign. An email to West’s press office didn’t receive a response either.

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Here’s her full email:

“I hope that you are doing well!  I have the most random favor to ask of you ever… would you help me get Kanye West on the ballot in Colorado?  No, I am not joking, and I realize this is hilarious.

The campaign contacted me last night asking me to help them find 9 registered voters to sign Kanye's Presidential Electors' Acceptance of Nomination form.  It is due tomorrow, so I'm under a bit of a time crunch and trying to start by asking people who I know understand this stuff a bit.

As I'm sure you are well aware, the form would be public record.  So a reporter could request it and call you asking why you signed. But you would just ignore that call and let me know, and the campaign would handle it.  Otherwise, your only obligation would be if Kanye wins Colorado then you would have to cast your electoral college vote for him.

Thank you for considering this, I get how random it is!  But I also know that you're in on the joke, so let me know what you think and if you'd be willing to sign the form.”

Cover: Kanye West attends the 2020 Vanity Fair Oscar Party at Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts on February 09, 2020 in Beverly Hills, California. (Rich Fury/VF20/Getty Images for Vanity Fair)