Kanye West Backs Chicago Mayoral Candidate Amara Enyia With $73K Donation
Kanye West once again dabbled in politics on Monday, October 22, only, this time the pendulum appears to have swung left of the “Make America Great Again” mantra he’s embraced – thanks to a donation of $73,540 that he made to longshot political consultant Amara Enyia, in Chicago’s crowded mayoral race.
The Chicago Tribune notes that in only one week’s time, Enyia has gone from relative obscurity to being a name on the tongue of some of the city’s youngest voters. One would have thought that the Austin Chamber of Commerce executive director could run a campaign without the help of a couple of rap stars, given the fact that she has already run for mayor once before. But Enyia’s 2015 bid was cut short by a challenge to the signatures on her election ballot petition – which is a problem she likely won’t be facing thanks to a headline-grabbing endorsement from Chance The Rapper.
Many had thought that Chance was preparing to pitch his own hat into the race, but as he revealed during a press conference last week, the socially conscious Grammy Award winner is actually encouraging voters to give Enyia a look. Thus, Enyia will be able to bank on efforts to mobilize people to the polls in her favor and a benefit concert or two ought to be in the works now that Chance has reportedly vowed to actively support her. But up until this week, Enyia faced a hurdle in regards to a debt that has carried over from her last run.
According to the Chicago Sun-Times, a failure to pay what she owed down by December 20 would have kept Enyia off of the ballot. But – enter Kanye West – who was apparently so moved by Chance’s faith in the 35-year-old candidate that he came out of pocket to clear her from the muck with the Illinois State Board of Elections.
#KanyeWest comes to the rescue to help ensure progressive #Chicago mayoral candidate #AmaraEnyia can get on the February ballot.https://t.co/kQqNWHbhrS
— MeMA-Music Inc. (@MEMA_Music) October 22, 2018
“The Amara Enyia campaign thanks Chicago native, Kanye West, for his generous action,” Enyia has written in a statement that she put out after receiving Ye’s contribution. “Amara’s campaign is energizing people around the city with bold ideas and solutions that move Chicago forward. We are excited to engage people of all walks of life as we focus our efforts on getting on the ballot,” the release continued on to say.
Enyia now enters the fold with the ability to compete against the likes of Toni Preckwinkle, Bill Daley, Garry McCarthy, Dorothy Brown, Gery Chico, Paul Vallas, Lori Lightfoot, Ja’Mal Green, Jeremiah Joyce Jr., John Kozlar, Troy LaRaviere, Matthew Roney, Neal Sales-Griffin, Willie Wilson, for the seat being vacated by sitting Mayor Rahm Emanuel.
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