in 2000, west worked as a senior advisor to democratic presidential candidate bill bradley. when bradley lost in the primaries, west became a prominent endorser of ralph nader, even speaking at some nader rallies. some greens sought to draft west to run as a presidential candidate in 2004. west declined, citing his active participation in the al sharpton campaign. west, along with other prominent nader 2000 supporters, signed the "vote to stop bush" statement urging progressive voters in swing states to vote for john kerry, despite strong disagreements with many of kerry's policies.