Andrew Yang officially running for Mayor of New York City

TWITTER / ANDREW YANG
Former presidential candidate Andrew Yang is running for NYC Mayor. His co-chair is
newly sworn-in Rep. Ritchie Torres, right.

No one can accuse Andrew Yang of not being bold. Yang, who was virtually unknown before launching his Quixotic run in the Democratic presidential primaries in 2019, has thrown in his hat in the crowded race for New York City's next mayor.

Fresh from campaigning in Georgia for the two Democrats who successfully upset their GOP incumbents, Yang made his announcement in Manhattan's  Upper East Side near Columbia University, his alma mater.

"I'm running for mayor for a very simple reason," said Yang. "I see a crisis and believe that I can help."

Whether or not Yang, who was born and raised in upstate New York, can reproduce the magic that allowed him to outlast seasoned politicians during the campaign is an open question.

He has an enviable list of contacts of his supporters across the nation that rallied to his side known as the Yang Gang and helped him raise record amounts of funds. 

"As mayor, we will launch the largest basic income program in the history of the country. Right here in New York," Yang said referring to a program that was successful during his presidential campaign that advocated giving $1,000 to every adult in the U.S. 

"We will lift hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers out of extreme poverty, putting cash relief directly into the hands of the families who desperately need help right now."

Yang's political aspiration was well known in the city for weeks and was always a question of "when," not "if." The tech entrepreneur made his announcement on his 46th birthday.

The universal basic income proposal, his signature plank on the presidential trail, is back in a scaled back version. His belated entry in the crowded race for mayor of the financial capitol of the U.S. gave some of his opponents time to introduce the issue as their own. at least five out of the dozen rivals have some version of the UBI in their platforms.

Yang's new UBI plan gives the extra income to only the 500,000 of the poorest New Yorkers.

Yang lives in NYC and his two sons attend public schools.

" He pledged to improve access to high-speed internet, "take back control" of the subway system and "reopen intelligently."

"I'm running for mayor for my two boys, for you, and for every New Yorker," Yang said. "Let's fight for a future New York City that we can all be proud of."

The Democratic primary is in six months. The winner in that contest will likely win the mayorship of the city.

Democrats give Andrew Yang time to speak during it's convention

SCREEN CAPTURE / YOUTU BE

Andrew Yang has been added as a speaker at the Democratic National Convention.

After former presidential candidate Andrew Yang tweeted Tuesday that he was disappointed that he wasn't given a speaking slot during the Democrats' virtual convention, he confirmed Thursday that he has been added to the list of speakers.

When the lineup of speakers for the Democratic National Convention was released Tuesday, Yang's name was not on it.

"I've got to be honest I kind of expected to speak," Yang, who has 1.6 million Twitter followers, tweeted. In a follow-up tweet, he joked, "maybe I endorsed against one too many incumbents." 

Yang, an entrepreneur who had never run for office before, surprised everyone with his unusual campaign which outlasted the campaigns of more seasoned and better known politicians.

What got him the most attention was his plan for a Universal Basic Income of $2000 a month for every adult in the U.S. He said the money would be spent and recirculated, spurring the economy. Evidently, people like the idea.

The New York-born Yang also spoke about the future workforce and manufacturing environment, two topics not on any other candidates' talking points until Yang's message began bringing in dollars and volunteers to his campaign. He connected with a younger, college-educated audience who dubbed themselves the Yang Gang.

When his name was not among the scheduled speakers, the Yang Gang sprang into action flooding the DNC with #LetYangSpeakDNC messages.

He also got support from some Democratic politicians.

"Asian Americans are the fastest increasing group in America, including in multiple swing states," Rep. Ted Lieu of California tweeted on Tuesday. "The gross underrepresentation of Asian American speakers in the four days of the DNC Convention is tone deaf and a slap in the face."

What stung the most was Yang was omitted even though several other former 2020 presidential candidates were scheduled to speak including Sens. Bernie Sanders, Amy Klobuchar, Elizabeth Warren and Cory Booker and former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg.

Illinois Senators Tammy Duckworth and Kamala Harris were the only AAPI politicians scheduled to speak. With Yang's addition, there will only be three AAPI speakers over the eight hours spread over four nights.

In 2016, in a more traditional convention format, the Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus was presented on stage, the first time the DNC noted that many AAPI politicians at one time.

After Harris was named as Joe Biden's pick for Vice President, Harris was given the slot reserved for -- at the time, unnamed -- vice president, leaving an opening for an additional speaker. 

Harris will now deliver her speech as the presumptive Vice President on Wednesday night. Biden will be the keynote speaker Thursday night. Both will speak from the Chase Center in Wilmington, Delaware, rather than travel to Milwaukee, where the convention was originally scheduled to be held.

The DNC has had to alter its speakers' list to jam in as many people into the two-hours over four nights, (Aug. 17-20) during the TV networks' primetime. Besides Yang, the DNC said it is adding Rep. Cedric Richmond of Louisiana, Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester of Delaware, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, billionaire philanthropist and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Los Angeles County Supervisor Hilda Solis, and historian Jon Meachem.

The virtual setup for the unconventional convention was made necessary because of the coronavirus pandemic limiting social contact for health reasons.

Nevertheless, considering what's at stake in this year's presidential elections, you would think the networks would add at least another hour to it's coverage of what could be the most important U.S. election in decades.

Door open for Andrew Yang to take part in next debate

SCREEN CAPTURE /CNN

No candidates of color met the DNC criteria to qualify for Tuesday's debate.

"Well #YangGang it looks like we’ll be back on the debate stage Feb 7 in New Hampshire! Let’s get it," tweeted presidential candidate Andrew Yang.

Yang was reacting to the Democratic National Committee's decision to add a new method for contenders to qualify for the Feb. 7 debate in New Hampshire.

Besides the criteria for the number of polls in which the candidate must have at least 5% in four qualifying polls, or 7% in New Hampshire, Nevada or South Carolina, as well as 225,000 unique donors, the DNC added one more way a presidential hopeful can qualify. The candidate must get one delegate out of the 41 delegates in the Feb. 3 Iowa Caucus.

That opens the possibility for Yang to join the six other candidates on the debate stage. Judging by his tweet, Yang is confident he'll get at least one delegate.

The DNC has taken flak since no candidate of color qualified for Tuesday's debate in Des Moines, Iowa. Neither Yang or Tulsi Gabbard met the criteria for the January debate. Cory Booker, an African American, and Julian Castro, a Mexican American, dropped out prior to the debate.

“That’s the last debate I’ll miss,” Yang tweeted Wednesday, the morning after the most recent debate. “Missing a debate has destroyed other campaigns. It fuels ours.”

The optics of the all-white candidates onstage during the debate was not good for a party that touts the diversity in the Democratic Party and both Castro and Booker argued the debate criteria worked against candidates of color.

SCREEN CAPTURE / CBS

A day after the debate, as a guest on The Late Show, Yang explained to host Stephen Colbert why there were no candidates of color in the debate:

“What I said at the debate before this one [is that] fewer than 5% of Americans donate to political campaigns. You need disposable income to contribute to campaigns, and you need some form of security in order to run for office. So what happened on the stage last night reflects the inequities and realities in our economy,” Yang said. 

“We should be more concerned with changing those realities on the ground. And if we did that then the stage would look very different. If you have communities of color who are just making ends meet, they don’t have the resources to contribute to campaigns at very high levels, and so you wind up with a stage that does not reflect the population of the country.”

The Feb. 7 debate will take place at St. Anselm College in Manchester, New Hampshire — co-hosted by ABC, ABC affiliate WMUR-TV and Apple News.

Additionally, Democrats plan for two more debates in February: in Law Vegas on Feb. 19 and another in Charleston, S.C., on Feb. 25. Qualifying criteria for those debates have not yet been announced.

Sunday Read: Who are the Andrew Yang supporters?

Korean American Steven Yeun on Thursday (Dec. 26) endorsed entrepreneur Andrew Yang in the Democratic presidential primary.

The New York-born Yang was said he was "thirlled" to have the actor join the Yang Gang.because he said he and his wife are fans of the long-running series that takes place in a zombie apocalyptic world. And there, in a nutshell -- is Yang's relatability. A normal guy who fanboys "The Walking Dead."

What other candidate has admitted that they love a TV show watched by millions of ordinary citizens. It is not a high-brow symphony or elitist Broadway play. The Walking Dead is everyman's show.

“The Walking Dead” star said Yang’s position as a political outsider would help him in serving the country.

“After meeting and speaking with Andrew Yang several times, I didn’t see a traditional politician; I saw a real human being who is authentic and genuinely cares deeply about everyday people and our country," Yeun said in a statement shared by the campaign.

“I think he is rising to the challenge of a new world and he’s uniquely thinking about the future and the life we will leave for our children and further generations," he continued.

Yeun immigrated to the U.S. from South Korea with his family when he was young. He was raised in Troy, Mich.

“His story is a true testament to the American Dream that immigrants from around the world come to this country to pursue,” Yang said.

Yang's presence in the campaign while more experienced candidates with name recognition and wide backing have dropped out -- read Kamala Harris -- speaks volumns about his appeal.

According to fivethirtyeight.com, "Yang’s strength comes primarily from voters under the age of 45, especially those between the ages of 18-to-29."

FIVE THIRTY-EGHT

As someone outside of the political mainstream, he is perceived as an unpolitical candidate, considering how tyupical politicians are disliked and distrusted by the American public, especially the young voters who are more open to choose outsiders over insiders. In this demographic, he is drawing more support than Bernie Sanders, who draws much of his support from this same group.

Yang has without question run an internet-savvy campaign, leaning into the meme culture popular among his supporters online, writes 538. "Yang also hasn’t shied away from discussing the dark underbelly of technology. That’s an issue that resonates with many young people, who have grown up in an era where tech giants like Amazon, Facebook and Google have dominated the marketplace and are helping alter the future of work." 

His call for a Secretary of Technology makes sense for a generation that spends all their waking hours staring at a screen at work and then staring at their mobile device after work.

His emphasis on new technology -- both the good and bad -- has made him a favorite among young men who see him as a fellow nerd. Yeun's endorsement and recent support from Donald Glover (Little Gambino) and Noah Centeneo (To All the Boys I've Ever Loved) should widen his appeal to the cool guys.

FIVE THIRTY-EIGHT

It's hard to figure out why, but an analysis by the Center for Responsive Politics in November found that Yang's appeal hasn't garnered young women. Women were less likely than men to contribute to his campaign — only 29 percent of Yang’s itemized contributions have come from female donors so far, according to CRP's analysis.

Despite Yang's outgoing nature, dry sense of humor and the very fact that he's dared to run for the highest office in the land as evidence his image is counter to the Asian male stereotype, its hard to shake the centuries-old lingering racist stereotype of Asan men that describes them as less appealing as a romantic partner. Dating sites have done research that shows the strong tendency for women of all races to swipe left when presented with an Asian prospect.

A recent survey showed that Asian Americans are starting to shift their donations to Yang's campaign. With the withdrawal of Indian American Kamala Harris and the faltering campaign of Samoan American Tulsi Gabbard, many AAPI donors perhaps partially out of ethnic pride are taking a serious look at Yang's unconventional candidacy.

As a result, Yang has been the chief beneficiary of AAPI political contributions. According to AAPI Data, he has raised $1,420,000, far surpassing Joe Biden, who raised $846,000.

Yang's popularity among AAPI communities is on the rise despite some doubts from activist groups who believe his jokes about Asians loving math, or knowing a lot of doctors  reinforces Asian American stereotypes.

In his own way, by being out there banging heads with the white frontrunners, he is also showing a more aggressive facet of an Asian American man. That's why even if some Asian Americans may disagree with his style or even with his policies, it is important that he be taken seriously and treated with the same sort of respect given to any other black, white,  Latino or female candidate.

Yang has been able to draw from those voters who hate traditional politicians and the grid-lock in Washington. His outsider status attracts younger voters, who feel that career politicians don't "get" them.

That may also explain why the bulk of his donors are small sums, less than $200, the largest percentage than any other candidate. Several candidates, such as Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, have touted the support of the small donors, but their treasuries also have substantial support from large donations from individuals and bundlers. Yang can clearly claim that he depends on small donations. In the 3rd Quarter, he was able to raise $10 million, which should carry him through the first few primaries and caucuses.

 The most recent Morning Consult survey says that he has moved into 4th place, ahead of Pete Buttigieg, in terms of favorability among potential voters.

Despite his unexpected rise, Yang still lags far behind the top tier of candidates. In nationwide polls, he hasn't been able to rise above the low single-digits. At some point, he's got to appeal to segments of the electorate beyond the enthusiastic Yang Gang.

In that regard, Saturday (Dec. 28), Yang has ended his feud with MSNBC. He boycotted MSNBC after the November debate when he received the shortest amount of speaking time on top several other slights by the network. He failed to get the on-air apology he asked for but the network did apologize privately and via social media.

“I am sitting down for a remote interview with Chris Hayes from South Carolina tonight,” he said before the appearance..”Chris, and other MSNBC journalists, have reached out to me and the team in the past days. I decided that I’d prefer to speak to as many Americans as possible — our message is too important.”

The centerpiece of his campaign the Freedom Dividend and how to pay for it, sounds almost too good to be true but people seem to be attracted to the idea. He has the youth vote and is doing well among Asians. In order to bring in a larger portion of voters, he needs to find a way to get women, college-educated suburbanites and African Americans to vote for him but in order to do that, he still needs to overcome the huge challenge of overcoming the stereotypes placed on Asian American men. 

Edited Dec. 29 for clarification.

AAPI communities putting their money in support of Andrew Yang

With the departure of Kamala Harris from the presidential race earlier last month and Hawaii's Rep. Tulsi Gabbard fading fast, Andrew Yang's support from the AAPI community appears to be growing.

Data compiled by AAPI Data shows that in terms of financial support from AAPI donnors, Yang has shot to the top among all of the Democratic hopefuls with $1,419,644 in donations.

A distant second is former Vice President Joe Biden who raised $845,671 from AAPI donors; followed by Sen. Elizabeth Warner with $738,089 and South Bend. Indiana mayor Pete Buttigieg, $674,599.

The last time AAPI Data released information where AAPI political donors in the first quarter of 2019, Sen. Cory Booker was the top fundraiser with his strong base of  Asian Americans from his home state of New Jersey. Second was Gabbard with an initial contributions from the Hindu community.

In the third quarter, Booker is now seventh in fundraising from Asian Americans. Gabbard has sunk to 11th among the remaining candidates.

Yang's support is chiefly from small donors, according to the BBC. The big donors -- corporations , political action committees (PACs) and people with high incomes have gravitated to moderates Biden, Buttigieg and N Booker. Harris, before she dropped out of the race, also attracted a good portion of her funds from big donations.

Despite winning the hearts and minds of more voters, especially in the third quarter, Yang is still far behind in fundraising. Overall, he is sixth in fundraising compared to the other top candidates. 

Asian Americans appear to currently favor Joe Biden and Elizabeth Warren when it comes to the Democratic presidential candidates, according to a recent informal survey by the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund.

Nevertheless, it has been a good week for Yang, who seems to be outdistancing the more politically experienced Gabbard in raising funds from the Asian American and Pacific Islander community.

BBC

Yang also increased his favorability ratings according to the Morning Consult poll by seven points after the Dec. 19 Democratic debate. According to that sampling, he now ranks fourth in the race, ahead of Buttigieg and just behind frontrunners, Biden, Warren and Bernie Sanders.

The candidates are beginning to look beyond Iowa and New Hampshire, traditionally the first and second states to cast their votes in a caucus or primary, respectively, and look towards more diverse states such as Nevada and South Carolina and target March 3, Super Tuesday, where California and Texas will hold their voter-rich primaries. Biden, Warren, Sanders, Booker and Buttigieg have created special outreach strategies to increase AAPI awareness and supporters.

Donations from the AAPI community could continue to rise for the New York-born Yang despite some criticism coming from progressive elements of the community concerning  his jokes perpetuating the Asian stereotype. He believes his jokes take away the sting of the stereotypes about being good at math and a tendency to become doctors and continues to use them in front of non-Asian audiences.


Since Harris left the race, the door is wide open for Yang's unconventional campaign to increase his support among AAPI electorate and the South Asian community, especially for the  Feb. 22 Nevada Caucus and California's March 3 primary, where AAPI political agencies have been busy registering new voters.

Once the butt of late night hosts' jokes, described a long shot, and called an odd ball, Yang is definitely in the mix among the Democratic candidates running for president. For the sake of of our country's future and for voters who have not made up their mind, Yang's policies and proposals deserve to be examined more closely beyond the universal basic income, the so-called Freedom Dividend of $1000 for every adult citizen. 

Yang has earned the right to be judged by the voters based on his merits and policies that he proposes. He should no longer be ignored, tokenized or marginalized by mainstream media.