Republicans scrambled to get Cornel West on the Arizona ballot. The left-wing academic is OK with it

WASHINGTON (AP) — A group of lawyers with deep ties to the Republican Party scrambled over the weekend to rescue an effort to get independent presidential candidate Cornel West on the Arizona ballot, offering one of the clearest examples yet of the GOP’s extensive involvement in furthering the left-wing academic’s long-shot bid.

As a deadline loomed to submit the needed paperwork, two well-known Republican lawyers in the state and a GOP attorney working to get West on the ballot elsewhere learned that two of their would-be electors — Jerry Judie and Denisha Mitchell — were not interested in fulfilling the role. The electors' decisions led to a barrage of text messages and phone calls looking to keep the operation alive. When those efforts failed, a Republican lawyer and the former GOP state lawmaker both visited Judie’s and Mitchell’s homes, seemingly seeking to persuade them to reconsider.

The Arizona Secretary of State’s office said Monday that West did not file the paperwork needed to get on the ballot before Saturday’s deadline.

In a brief interview, West expressed ambivalence about Republican efforts to help him, which Democrats fear could benefit Donald Trump by siphoning away left-leaning voters who would probably support the Democratic nominee otherwise.

“So much of American politics is highly gangster-like activity,” West told The Associated Press on Monday. “I have no knowledge of who they are or anything — none whatsoever. We just want to get on that ballot. And that’s the difficult thing.”

The work by the GOP attorneys appears to be part of a broader effort by conservative activists and Republican-aligned operatives across the country to push West’s candidacy and subvert the integrity of the ballot in the months leading up to November’s presidential election.

“I am officially no longer interested in being elector,” Judie, a 62-year-old retired park ranger for the city of Phoenix, said when an operative working to get West on the ballot texted him and asked if he could meet at a local hotel to sign another document.

Judie told the AP he had been a fan of West since his 20s, drawn to his ideas and passion. He was excited earlier this year when he learned that West was running for president and pursued a chance to be an elector to the progressive's campaign. Judie began to sour on that idea, however, when President Joe Biden ended his campaign last month, making way for Vice President Kamala Harris to be the Democratic nominee.

“When she was in the driver’s seat, that changed the game," he said. “That changed everything for me, my family, and the people that I know. It was like magic.”

To qualify for the ballot, Arizona law requires independent presidential candidates to put forward a slate of electors who would cast Electoral College votes for them. After Judie informed the operative that he was no longer interested in representing West's campaign, he received a series of phone calls, according to call records provided to the AP, from people working on the effort, along with a visit to his house by two Republicans hoping to get West on the ballot.

“I am sorry ... we have been calling the crap out of you,” Paul Hamrick, an attorney who has been involved in getting West on the ballot in other states, said in a voicemail to Judie obtained by the AP. “The reason we have been trying to get in touch with you is we found out in the last 24 hours we have got to have everybody sign a letter that Dr. West has also signed.”

Hamrick then relayed that he knew Judie no longer wanted to be an elector. “Is there anything you can tell me about that or has anyone encouraged you not to be?” Hamrick asked.

Judie said two people came to his door looking to speak with him after he received the voicemail. He didn't answer or talk to them — assuming they were looking to speak about West — but someone Judie knows spoke with them. They identified themselves as Amanda Reeve, a former registered lobbyist and election policy adviser at the law firm Snell & Wilmer, and Brett Johnson, a well-known lawyer at the firm.

Reeve is a former Republican state representative and Johnson is a member of the Republican National Lawyers Association. Reeve and Johnson’s firm has done extensive work for the Republican National Committee, GOP candidates and conservative groups, according to campaign finance disclosures.

Republicans and their allies have worked to get West on the ballot in Arizona, Wisconsin, Virginia, North Carolina, Nebraska, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Maine, all in the hope that West will help boost former President Donald Trump’s chances of winning later this year by pulling support from Harris. West does not need to win a state to serve as a spoiler candidate — a few thousand votes in battleground states could be decisive.

Reeve also called Mitchell after the AP reported Friday that she has signed an affidavit stating that she did not agree to be a West elector and never signed her name to a filing, alleging that the document that was filed in her name was forged.

“We need to get this information in as soon as possible,” Reeve said to Mitchell in a Friday voicemail in which she said her firm represented “the Cornel West campaign.”

“It’s due tomorrow morning,” Reeve stressed.

On Saturday, two people — one resembling Johnson and another Reeve — visited Mitchell's home, according to footage from her doorbell camera obtained by the AP. The two rang the doorbell and left, not speaking with anyone in the home.

Neither Johnson nor Reeve responded to calls or emails requesting comment for this story.

Mitchell said after the AP story was published Friday — in which said she “didn’t even know what an elector was” and that the paperwork was “forged” and riddled with errors — she received a call from someone who had been handling the West petition work. She missed the call, but when she called back, she was connected to Hamrick.

Hamrick, an Alabama-based attorney, said the allegations against him were “false” when reached Sunday night, but declined to comment further.

Mitchell's and Judie’s cases are the latest examples of the dubious tactics used to get West on ballots nationwide.

Mitchell, who had been drawn to West’s progressive message before she learned Republican-aligned operatives were working to get him on the ballot, told the AP on Friday that she was unaware who filled out the paperwork in her name, calling it “forged.” She and her husband previously worked for a signature-gathering contractor called Wells Marketing, collecting signatures to get an initiative on the ballot that would raise the wages of tipped workers in Arizona.

Wells Marketing, a mysterious Missouri limited liability company, was also leading the effort to gather the signatures needed to get West on the ballot in Arizona.

Judie, reflecting on his chaotic last three days, said he was left with an uneasy feeling, especially because he still respects West.

“They had only one reason they were doing it," Judie said. “Just to get him on the ballot so some votes would go to him and not go to other people."

Associated Press writers Jonathan J. Cooper in Phoenix and Farnoush Amiri in Chicago contributed.

Progressive activist Cornel West watches a demonstration prior to a march to the Democratic National Convention Monday, Aug. 19, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Progressive activist Cornel West gestures during a demonstration prior to a march to the Democratic National Convention Monday, Aug. 19, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Progressive activist Cornel West watches a demonstration prior to a march to the Democratic National Convention Monday, Aug. 19, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

FILE - Scholar and activist Cornel West, who is running for U.S. president as a third-party candidate in 2024, speaks on Saturday, July 15, 2023, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, File)

Republicans are central in an effort to rescue Cornel West’s ballot hopes in Arizona

Republicans are central in an effort to rescue Cornel West’s ballot hopes in Arizona

HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — Nearly 200 people have died in Vietnam in the aftermath of Typhoon Yagi and more than 125 are missing as flash floods and landslides take their toll, state media reported Thursday.

Vietnam's VNExpress newspaper reported that 197 people have died and 128 are still missing, while more than 800 have been injured.

In the capital, flood waters from the Red River receded slightly but many areas were still inundated.

In Hanoi's Tay Ho district, people waded through muddy brown water above their knees to make their way along one street, some still wearing their bicycle and motorcycle helmets after abandoning their vehicles along the way.

A few paddled along the road in small boats as empty water bottles, a stryofoam cooler and other flotsam drifted by; one man pushed his motorbike toward drier ground in an aluminum sloop.

Pedestrians hiked up their shorts as high as possible to avoid being soaked by the wake caused by a delivery truck powering its way through the water.

Yagi was the strongest typhoon to hit the Southeast Asian country in decades. It made landfall Saturday with winds of up to 149 kph (92 mph). Despite weakening on Sunday, downpours continued and rivers remain dangerously high.

The flooding in Hanoi has been reportedly the worst in two decades, and has led to widespread evacuations.

The death toll spiked earlier in the week as a flash flood swept away the entire hamlet of Lang Nu in northern Vietnam's Lao Cai province Tuesday.

Hundreds of rescue personnel worked tirelessly Wednesday to search for survivors, but as of Thursday morning 53 villagers remained missing, VNExpress reported, while seven more bodies were found, bringing the death toll there to 42.

Floods and landslides have caused most of the deaths, many of which have come in the northwestern Lao Cai province, bordering China, where Lang Nu is located. Lao Cai province is also home to the popular trekking destination of Sapa.

On Monday, a bridge collapsed and a bus was swept away by flooding, killing dozens of people.

The steel bridge in Phu Tho province over the engorged Red River collapsed, sending 10 cars and trucks along with two motorbikes into the river. The bus carrying 20 people was swept into a flooded stream by a landslide in mountainous Cao Bang province.

Experts say storms like Typhoon Yagi are getting stronger due to climate change, as warmer ocean waters provide more energy to fuel them, leading to higher winds and heavier rainfall.

Rising reported from Bangkok.

Flood triggered by Typhoon Yagi submerges houses in Bac Giang province, Vietnam Sunday, Sept. 8, 2024. (Le Danh Lam/VNA via AP)

A woman paddles a boat on a flooded street, following Typhoon Yagi in Hanoi, Vietnam on Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Huy Han)

A man pushes a stack of plyboards in flood following Typhoon Yagi in Hanoi, Vietnam on Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Huy Han)

The iconic Long Bien bridge is seen on flooded Red river, following Typhoon Yagi in Hanoi, Vietnam on Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Huy Han)

People look on a submerged dragon structure in a playground, following Typhoon Yagi in Hanoi, Vietnam on Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024. (AP Photo/Huy Han)

Mud and debris bury houses in Lang Nu hamlet in Lao Cai province, Vietnam Tuesday, Sep. 10, 2024. (Pham Hong Ninh/VNA via AP)

Vietnam death toll climbs to 197 as typhoon's aftermath brings flash floods and landslides

Vietnam death toll climbs to 197 as typhoon's aftermath brings flash floods and landslides

Rescue workers clear mud and debris brough down by a flood in Lang Nu hamlet in Lao Cai province, Vietnam Tuesday, Sep. 10, 2024. (Pham Hong Ninh/VNA via AP)