Former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang is reportedly calling local officials in New York City to gauge what kind of support he could get if he makes a bid for the mayor’s office.
Staffers have been conducting polls to gauge voter interest, and Yang is in talks with the consulting firm that helped former Mayor Michael Bloomberg in his 2009 mayoral campaign, according to several people involved with the discussions, Politico reported.
“It sounds like Andrew Yang is running for mayor and seems excited about his path to win,” said a source who has spoken with Yang.
Yang’s team recently conducted a poll to test how he would do as a third-party candidate as well as a separate survey among Democratic voters to see where the tech entrepreneur would rank alongside other potential candidates. The survey, comprised of 1,000 Democratic voters polled between Nov. 30 and Dec. 6, found Yang came out as a top choice, ahead of Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams and NYC Comptroller Scott Stringer, who narrowly followed, the New York Post reported.
Yang’s signature campaign promise in his 2020 presidential run revolved around the proposal for a universal basic income of $1,000 a month for every U.S. citizen. The 45-year-old also frequently talked about the threat technology poses to the abundance of jobs that remain available.
Other possible contenders for the 2021 mayoral race in the nation’s largest city include ex-City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, who lost her bid in 2013, and Rep. Max Rose, who just lost his seat to Republican Nicole Malliotakis.
Rose ran his reelection campaign often taking shots at Mayor Bill de Blasio, a fellow Democrat. In one ad, he called de Blasio “the worst mayor in the history of New York City.”
Due to term limits, de Blasio is unable to run for a third term as mayor. His term will end Dec. 31, 2021.
