Words are the 'Black Skinhead' rapper worked on to get his name included on the ballot as a third-party candidate before he ditched the plan possibly because it's too overwhelming.

• Jul 15, 2020

AceShowbiz - Kanye West is reportedly out of the presidential race, even before he officially begins his campaign. The rapper may no longer set his eyes on the White House amid reports that he only pulled 2% of voters in a new poll.

The Atlanta native, who announced his presidential bid on Twitter on Saturday, July 4, missed the deadline in several states, but he had taken early steps last week to get his name on the ballot as a third-party candidate running against Joe Biden and Donald Trump, Intelligencer reports.

According to Steve Kramer, a specialist who runs a firm that helps candidates get on the ballot, he had been hired to help Ye get on the ballot in Florida and South Carolina. The insider told the site that Ye's team was "working over weekend there, formalizing the FEC and other things that they've got to do when you have a lot of corporate lawyers involved."

Ye had to collect 132,781 signatures in less than a week to hit the July 15 deadline and Kramer claimed that "we had overwhelming support to get him on the ballot." He noted though that "whether anybody is going to vote for him or not is up to them" and that the effort to collect the signatures included both paid and volunteer efforts to get signatures.

However, when Kramer was contacted again to confirm Ye's progress, he said, "He's out." He didn't provide the reason why, saying, "I'll let you know what I know once I get all our stuff canceled. We had over 180 people out there today."

Later, Kramer hinted that the whole process could be too much for West to handle. "I have nothing good or bad to say about Kanye. Everyone has their personal decision about why they make decisions," he said. "Running for president has to be one of the hardest things for someone to actually contemplate at that level." He noted that "any candidate running for president for the first time goes through these hiccups."

Kramer additionally revealed that the staff he had hired for Ye's presidential run were disappointed not just because they would be out of a job, but because they were excited about West's voice being added to the national election.

News of West bowing out of the presidential race comes on the heels of reports revealing the results of a national presidential poll taken by consulting firm Redfield & Wilton Strategies. According to the poll, the "Follow God" spitter only clocked in at 2% out of 2,000 people polled.

The addition of West in the poll doesn't hurt Biden's number, which still clocked in 48%, while Trump's number dropped 1% from the previous poll. The other third-party candidates from the Libertarian and Green Parties don't fare well either, with Jo Jorgensen and Howie Hawkins pulling 1% each.