When did he declare? Cornel West, the progressive philosopher and Ivy League academic, announced a third party bid in June.
He initially made his bid for the small, leftist People’s Party, before switching to the Green Party and finally announcing in October he would run as an independent.
Where is he polling? Mr West’s campaign is too small to register in most national polling, but analysis by FiveThirtyEight suggests he could act as a “spoiler” candidate for Mr Biden by drawing progressive votes away from the Democrats.
What are his flagship policies? The 70-year-old academic launched his presidential bid with a vow to run “for truth and justice”, arguing he offers an appealing alternative to the two major parties’ leading candidates.
He has denounced Donald Trump as a “neo-fascist” and Mr Biden a “milquetoast neoliberal”.
A talented communicator, the philosophy professor has taught at Yale, Princeton and Harvard universities. He prides himself on being one of America’s “most provocative public intellectuals”.
After championing Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign, he became disillusioned and labelled him a “Rockefeller Republican in blackface”.
He campaigned for Bernie Sanders in 2020 before begrudgingly backing Mr Biden, saying he was “better than fascism”.
But he has since called for an alternative to a Biden-Trump rematch, claiming “neither political party wants to tell the truth” about Wall Street, Ukraine, or Big Tech.