Kanye West is officially running for president after claims he 'dropped out' of race

Kanye West [Photo: Getty]

Kanye West took his first step towards running for president despite reports he had "dropped out" of the race. The Jesus Walks rapper, 43, has filed with the Federal Election Commission which is a requirement for anyone running for US President.

According to TMZ, Kanye filled out the first form required by the FEC to run for president - Form 1: Statement of Organization - declaring that the Kanye 2020 committee will serve as the 'Principal Campaign Committee' with West as its candidate. He also declared he will be running as a third-party candidate for the BDY party - which stands for the Birthday Party. But Kanye is yet to file Form 2: Statement of Candidacy - which shows he's "raised or spent more than $5,000 in campaign activity" and triggers candidacy status under federal campaign finance law.