Kanye West abandons presidential hopes – but teases 2024 run

Preliminary tallies have suggested West received at least 1,000 votes in every state ballot he appeared on

Kanye West appears to have abandoned his hopes of becoming president, while teasing a possible run in 2024.

The rapper, who announced in July that he was running for US president against Joe Biden and Donald Trump, tweeted a sombre message of apparent concession in the early hours of Wednesday morning (4 November).

“WELP,” West tweeted, alongside the words “KANYE 2024” and a dove emoji.

The tweet captioned an image that showed West standing in front of an electoral map.

On Tuesday, West declared on Twitter that he was about to cast his first ever presidential vote, for himself. West appeared on the ballot in 12 states, including Vermont, Iowa and Arkansas.

According to preliminary tallies, West received at least 1,000 votes in each contest. Tennessee drew his largest number of supporters, with West earning 10,188 votes.

West, who previously supported Trump for president before running himself, is believed to have spent at least $12m (£9.1m) of his own money on his presidential campaign, though failed to get on the ballots of all 50 states.

Ohio and Illinois, the rapper’s home state, announced in October that West would not appear on their respective ballots, as he did not receive enough signatures to stand as an independent candidate.

He also missed several deadlines to appear on the ballot in key states after failing to hand in the documents required to register in time.

West’s wife Kim Kardashian posted an image of herself with a “Just Voted” sticker on 3 November, but declined to confirm whether she had voted for her husband.

West’s presidential run was trailed by controversy and criticism, with Jennifer Aniston hitting out at people who intended to vote for the star.

“It’s not funny to vote for Kanye,” Aniston wrote on Instagram. “I don’t know how else to say it. Please be responsible.”