Kanye West Reveals His Running Mate for 2020 Election

Kanye West continues to move forward with his presidential campaign despite missing the deadline to get his name on the ballot in many states. The rapper has listed Michelle Tidball as his vice presidential running mate for The Birthday Party as he filed paperwork and signatures in Wisconsin Tuesday, echoing the paperwork filed in Vermont, according to TMZ.

Tidball, a self-described “biblical life coach,” based in Cody, Wyoming, where West owns a ranch, has yet to confirm this partnership herself. The outlet reports she once advocated making beds and doing dishes as a way to treat mental illness. West has been registering as an independent candidate, but at least four people linked to his campaign have been active in Republican politics recently.

One of these political operatives, Mark Jacoby, is an executive Let the Voters Decide, which has been collecting signatures for West’s campaign in three states, according to The New York Times. Jacoby was arrested on voter fraud charges in 2008 while doing work for the California Republican Party, later pleading guilty to a misdemeanor. In a statement to the Times, Jacoby insisted his company is nonpartisan. “We do not comment on any current clients, but like all Americans, anyone who is qualified to stand for election has the right to run,” he said.

West’s presidential campaign has come amid a rash of erratic behavior, including his South Carolina rally last month in which he made false statements about Harriet Tubman. He also broke down crying while revealing he and wife Kim Kardashian had considered an abortion with his first child, daughter North West, back in 2012. He later tweeted that Kardashian “tried to bring a doctor to lock me up.” The Keeping Up With the Kardashians star took to Instagram with a statement not long after confirming her husband had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and asking for compassion for his family.

“Anyone who has this or has a loved one in their life who does knows how incredibly complicated and painful it is to understand,” she wrote, adding that she was only speaking out now “because of the stigma and misconceptions about mental health.” She continued that her family has been “powerless” to get West treated because he is not a minor. “People who are unaware or far removed from this experience can be judgmental and not understand that the individual themselves have to engage in the process of getting help no matter how hard family and friends try,” she wrote.

Not long after, West apologized to his wife publicly. “I would like to apologize to my wife Kim for going public with something that was a private matter,” West wrote on Twitter late last month. “I did not cover her like she has covered me. To Kim, I want to say I know I hurt you. Please forgive me. Thank you for always being there for me.”