Former Democratic Presidential Nominee Andrew Yang Plans To Run For NYC Mayor

Former Democratic presidential nominee Andrew Yang may have plans to run for New York City mayor.

The New York Times reported on Dec. 11 that Yang is planning to announce his intention next week. It was also reported that Yang is planning meetings with city leaders. City Council Speaker Corey Johnson and Yang have already met, and Yang is planning on meeting Al Sharpton next week.

Yang, a former lawyer and entrepreneur, was born in upstate New York, was one of the more progressive candidates during the presidential primary. Yang pushed universal basic income, Medicare for all, and that every cop in the country should be outfitted with a body camera.

If Yang officially declares, he will have to navigate having no previous government experience and will have to stand out in a deep and crowded field of far-left progressives who are trying their best to distance themselves from former mayor Bill de Blasio.

Yang recently announced that he moved to Georgia to stump for Jon Ossoff and Rev. Raphael Warnock in their state runoffs January 5 against David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler.

Great news #yanggang – Evelyn and I are moving to Georgia to help @ossoff and @ReverendWarnock win! This is our only chance to clear Mitch out of the way and help Joe and Kamala get things done in the next 4 years. More details to come but let’s go!!! 😀🇺🇸🚀 https://t.co/egcdwqC1qZ

— Andrew Yang🧢🇺🇸 (@AndrewYang) November 8, 2020

Outgoing Congressman Max Rose, who lose his seat to Nicole Malliotakis is also considering a run for mayor. Nineteen other candidates have declared their intentions to run, including Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, Citigroup Executive Raymond McGuire, Lawyer Issac Wright Jr., New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer and Maya Wiley former counsel for de Blasio. 

Before de Blasio was elected in 2016, the two previous mayors Rudy Giuliani and Mike Bloomberg were elected as Republicans. However, this election may come down to who is the most progressive candidate in a city that has largely denounced the party. Although the Democrat Senate and House struggled in the election, they thrived in New York.

Both Richie Torres and Mondaire Jones became the first openly gay Black men elected to Congress after winning their house races last month.