Andrew Yang, the technology entrepreneur who started national prominence as a Democratic candidate for president in 2020, he filed the paperwork to run for mayor of New York City. The move prepares him to participate in a crowded Democratic race just six months before a primary will likely determine the next mayor.
A financial form for Yang’s potential campaign was presented to the city’s Campaign Finance Council on Wednesday. Yang also now appears as a mayoral candidate on the financial council’s list of 2,021 candidates across the city.
The paperwork does not guarantee that Yang is running and he has so far no campaign contributions. A source close to Yang told CBS News that these steps are “procedural only” and no decision has been made, but added that Yang is “seriously considering and this is the next necessary step”.
A survey released this week by Education Reform Now Advocacy, a charter school advocacy group, showed Yang as the top candidate for the next mayor of New York, although he has yet to complete the paperwork or announce a campaign. Yang led the poll with 17% support – 1% more than Eric Adams, the president of the Brooklyn neighborhood who is seen as one of the top candidates.
Yang was also appointed as a possible candidate for the post of US Secretary of Commerce next Biden Administration, sources told CBS News – although a source said that a run for mayor would likely conflict with that.
Adam Glanzman / Bloomberg via Getty Images
Almost 40 people filed for the mayoral race, including several people from the world of technology and finance. Yang never held an elected post and launched his first campaign when he ran for the Democratic presidential nomination.
In the race for the White House, Yang overcame the current mayor of New York Bill de Blasio, who ended his four-month campaign after a one-digit vote and then endorsed the senator Bernie Sanders. de Blasio will have his term out of office for a limited term in 2021.
Yang’s campaign also coincided with the recent brief presidential campaign by the former mayor of New York Michael Bloomberg, which preceded Blasio.
Yang gained momentum for his Universal Basic Income platform to send $ 1,000 a month to all Americans over 18. But his presidential candidacy ended up failing to win many voters. Yang give up after the New Hampshire primaries in February 2020 and later approved by Joe Biden.
Within weeks of ending his White House candidacy, Yang began to publicly consider running for mayor of New York; he lives in Manhattan, although he recently temporarily moved to Georgia to campaign for the two Democratic candidates in the state January 5, second round of the Senate.
Mayoral primaries will be held in June 2021, and the winner is likely to win the November general election, as New York City is a Democratic stronghold.
Sarah Ewall-Wice and Nikole Killion contributed to this report.