Andrew Yang, the tech entrepreneur who rose to prominence in 2020 as a Democratic presidential candidate, filed the paperwork on Wednesday to start raising money for a campaign for mayor in New York City.
Two recent polls show that recognizing Yang’s name for his presidential candidacy and subsequent appearances on CNN as a political analyst would put him at the top of the area, which is packed with more than two dozen candidates.
One such poll, conducted by Public Policy Polling, showed that he got 17% of the vote, in a virtual tie with Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, who received 16%.
No other candidate broke 10 percent – but 40 percent of the 755 Democratic voters in the primary polls interviewed said they remained uncommitted or unsure of June’s primaries six months later.
Yang’s lawsuit with the city’s Campaign Funding Council comes just a day after he sat down in Harlem with Reverend Al Sharpton, one of the city’s most influential African-American political activists.
The paperwork with the CFB shows that Yang decided to opt for the city’s public funding system for his run, which provides up to $ 8 in financing for every dollar he raises privately.
However, to accept funding from the city, he also agreed to limit his spending to $ 7.3 million for the 2021 Democratic primary election. Supporters of Yang’s candidacy for the Gracie Mansion said they expected the large base donors of his 2020 campaign allow him to easily set those numbers.
Yang’s presidential candidacy attracted a significant following during the Democratic presidential primaries for his advocacy of policies that would guarantee a basic level of income for all Americans.
However, Yang has little experience in politics or government – meaning that there are few clues as to how he will campaign in New York’s famous turbulent world of politics or run the Big Apple if he wins the election.
A Yang representative did not immediately respond to a request for comment.