Trust me dude
I want to vote for Cornel West incredibly badly in 2024, like more than I felt about even Bernie Sanders
But I am incredibly frustrated with the voting systems the US uses that basically enforce two party rule. Particularly first past the post voting but the old chestnut of the electoral college doesn't help either. I agree that third party candidates "stealing" votes from the democrats is probably, to a degree, a false narrative. The effect certainly exists (I fear that, I, personally, am susceptible to it), but not to the degree that it is emphasized as a point of failure for democrats getting elected. From my experience (which is, admittedly, anecdotal and VERY limited), people just can't be bothered when everyone sucks anyway.
I would love to see West elected by sheer, brute force numbers. So I'm going to do the best I can with the platform I have to make people as aware of West as I possibly can. If you have the option, vote green party representatives too. It's probably actually possible to get them in lesser offices through sheer turnout.
Awareness is important for making sure people know the option for something outside the dichotomy of republican and democrat even exists.