Despite what appeared to be a wellspring of support on Twitter from the “Yang Gang,” Andrew Yang’s longshot campaign didn’t manage to attract voters in meaningful numbers in the first two contests of the 2020 election season.
After their abysmal showing in Iowa and New Hampshire, the Yang campaign decided to pack it in. Now, however, the former candidate has joined CNN as a political commentator.
Now that Yang has much more time free, cable TV channel CNN has scooped him up as a political commentator. Yang’s campaign ran on a platform of establishing a Universal Basic Income, or UBI, with Yang hoping to give $1,000 per month to every citizen.
While his view on this matter is quite progressive, Yang also had some support from libertarians and even some disaffected Republicans.
However, the candidate didn’t manage to convince many progressive voters to sway from Bernie Sanders. Despite his high visibility and vocal online support, Yang discovered the hard way that trending hashtags and an engaged online following doesn’t translate into winning elections.
Yang’s positive attitude and likability were crucial to his campaign. The candidate often complimented his opponents online. He was also often filmed singing in church choirs or laughing with fans. Suffice it to say, many were disappointed when Yang announced he dropped from the race.
After joining CNN, Yang tweeted, “I’m excited to join @CNN to help shed light on the election and the candidates’ experiences.”
The former candidate continued, “learned a lot these past months and am glad to contribute to the public discussion.”
Sanders, the clear frontrunner in the Democratic contest, faces little other progressive competition in the field.
Elizabeth Warren has failed to drum up any delegates in the first two contests. She is the sole other progressive still in the race.
Pete Buttigieg, Mike Bloomberg and Joe Biden are all notably centrist, and are each likely siphoning votes from one another.
This divided field has made it easier for Sanders to emerge as a frontrunner.
