<img width="1024" height="577" src="https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Andrew-Yang-24-1-e1558725008660.jpg?quality=80&strip=all&w=1024" class="attachment-medium_10 size-medium_10 wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Andrew-Yang-24-1-e1558725008660.jpg 1512w, https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Andrew-Yang-24-1-e1558725008660.jpg?resize=768,433 768w, https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Andrew-Yang-24-1-e1558725008660.jpg?resize=50,28 50w, https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Andrew-Yang-24-1-e1558725008660.jpg?resize=160,90 160w, https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Andrew-Yang-24-1-e1558725008660.jpg?resize=320,180 320w, https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Andrew-Yang-24-1-e1558725008660.jpg?resize=640,360 640w, https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Andrew-Yang-24-1-e1558725008660.jpg?resize=940,529 940w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /><p class="p1"><span class="s1">“<a href="https://shop.yang2020.com/products/math-hat">MATH</a>” hats. Fox News. The Joe Rogan Experience podcast. </span>Andrew Yang knows how to run an insurgent presidential campaign. <span class="s1">The 44-year-old candidate, once barely known outside New York and Silicon Valley, is now leader of the “Yang Gang,” a growing following of <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/YangForPresidentHQ/">online fans</a> and IRL admirers rallying to Yang&#8217;s campaign cry of “humanity first.&#8221;</span><span class="s2"><br />
</span></p>
<div id="attachment_1625888" style="width: 1610px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1625888" class="size-hero-xl wp-image-1625888" src="https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Andrew-Yang-18.jpg?quality=80&strip=all&w=1600" alt="" width="1600" height="1067" srcset="https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Andrew-Yang-18.jpg 6312w, https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Andrew-Yang-18.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Andrew-Yang-18.jpg?resize=50,33 50w, https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Andrew-Yang-18.jpg?resize=160,107 160w, https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Andrew-Yang-18.jpg?resize=320,213 320w, https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Andrew-Yang-18.jpg?resize=640,427 640w, https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Andrew-Yang-18.jpg?resize=940,627 940w, https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Andrew-Yang-18.jpg?resize=1600,1067 1600w" sizes="(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px" /><p id="caption-attachment-1625888" class="wp-caption-text">Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang talks with campaign manager Zach Graumann as they eat dinner before an event on April 27, 2019, in Boone, Iowa.</p></div>
<p><span class="s1">Yang is now <a href="https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2020/president/us/2020_democratic_presidential_nomination-6730.html">outpolling</a> seasoned pols like Kirsten Gillibrand, averaging 1% in recent surveys. Despite being &#8220;neither popular nor well-known,&#8221; as a <a href="https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/how-andrew-yang-could-win-the-2020-democratic-primary/">FiveThirtyEight story puts it</a>, he&#8217;s disturbing the forces of the Democratic establishment. His rallies are attracting <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/who-is-that-guy-andrew-yangs-presidential-campaign-draws-crowds-money-and-an-expected-spot-on-the-democratic-debate-stage/2019/05/09/c1bf788c-6c5e-11e9-8f44-e8d8bb1df986_story.html">thousands of people</a> (paywall). A two-hour <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTsEzmFamZ8&feature=youtu.be">appearance on Joe Rogan&#8217;s podcast</a> in February garnered almost 3 million views. He&#8217;s winning over betting markets, which have given the long-shot candidate <a href="https://electionbettingodds.com/">2.3% odds at taking the White House</a>, besting senator Corey Booker and Texas phenom Beto O&#8217;Rourke. Despite his distance from Washington, Yang&#8217;s surge shows that a candidate seemingly assembled from the musings of a <a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/YangForPresidentHQ/">Silicon Valley </a></span><a href="https://www.reddit.com/r/YangForPresidentHQ/">Reddit thread</a> can take on the Democratic establishment.</p>
<p><img class="wp-image-1628056 alignright" src="https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/hat_front_1024x1024@2x.png?w=640" alt="" width="248" height="248" srcset="https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/hat_front_1024x1024@2x.png 720w, https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/hat_front_1024x1024@2x.png?resize=50,50 50w, https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/hat_front_1024x1024@2x.png?resize=160,160 160w, https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/hat_front_1024x1024@2x.png?resize=320,320 320w, https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/hat_front_1024x1024@2x.png?resize=640,640 640w, https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/hat_front_1024x1024@2x.png?resize=32,32 32w, https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/hat_front_1024x1024@2x.png?resize=64,64 64w, https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/hat_front_1024x1024@2x.png?resize=96,96 96w, https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/hat_front_1024x1024@2x.png?resize=128,128 128w" sizes="(max-width: 248px) 100vw, 248px" /></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">Yang’s done it in part by stealing the most effective tactics from Trump&#8217;s electoral victory. </span><span class="s1">Need a visible symbol for your followers? Sell $30 <a href="https://shop.yang2020.com/products/math-hat">MATH hats</a> (&#8220;Make America Think Harder&#8221;) and own the <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/yang-gang-the-memes-powering-one-longshot-democrats-unlikely-ascent-to-the-debate-stage">meme game</a>. </span><span class="s1">Need to vanquish better-known primary opponents? Flood every media outlet that will give you an interview. No one is talking about a controversial, radical idea? Turn it into your signature issue, rechristening universal basic income, a guaranteed payment to every American, as a $1,000 “freedom dividend” (and force primary rivals like Bernie Sanders and O’Rourke to come out against it). </span><span class="s1">As other candidates play it safe, Yang doubles down on policies that no reasonable wonk would touch, and promotes them</span><span class="s1"> on Republican turf such as Fox News (a tactic <a href="https://www.politico.com/story/2019/05/22/democratic-town-hall-fox-poll-1338127">his fellow long-shot candidates</a> have adopted). </span></p>
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<p class="p1"><span class="s1">Politically speaking, Yang presents himself as Trump’s antithesis. “The opposite of Donald Trump,” Yang</span><span class="s2"> <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/05/22/us/politics/andrew-yang-2020-asian-candidates.html"><span class="s3">told one of his rallies this year</span></a></span><span class="s1"> (paywall), “is an Asian man who likes math!” T</span><span class="s1">hat may be true as far as his policies go. </span><span class="s1">But his campaign strategy is an homage to America&#8217;s most unlikely president (without the racism and xenophobia)</span><span class="s1">. </span><span class="s1">Yang is among the few to have effectively staked the outsider lane of the Democratic primary while making it look authentic. If</span><span class="s1"> Yang wins, the title of the most unlikely American president in modern history will pass to the Taiwanese-American and former test-prep CEO without a political office to his name.</span></p>
<div id="attachment_1625880" style="width: 1610px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1625880" class="size-hero-xl wp-image-1625880" src="https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Andrew-Yang-01.jpg?quality=80&strip=all&w=1600" alt="" width="1600" height="1067" srcset="https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Andrew-Yang-01.jpg 6169w, https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Andrew-Yang-01.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Andrew-Yang-01.jpg?resize=50,33 50w, https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Andrew-Yang-01.jpg?resize=160,107 160w, https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Andrew-Yang-01.jpg?resize=320,213 320w, https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Andrew-Yang-01.jpg?resize=640,427 640w, https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Andrew-Yang-01.jpg?resize=940,627 940w, https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Andrew-Yang-01.jpg?resize=1600,1067 1600w" sizes="(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px" /><p id="caption-attachment-1625880" class="wp-caption-text">An Andrew Yang supporter, Katie Weis, 28, of Omaha, Nebraska, waits to have a photo taken with the candidate.</p></div>
<div id="attachment_1625881" style="width: 1610px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1625881" class="size-hero-xl wp-image-1625881" src="https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Andrew-Yang-09.jpg?quality=80&strip=all&w=1600" alt="" width="1600" height="1067" srcset="https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Andrew-Yang-09.jpg 5929w, https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Andrew-Yang-09.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Andrew-Yang-09.jpg?resize=50,33 50w, https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Andrew-Yang-09.jpg?resize=160,107 160w, https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Andrew-Yang-09.jpg?resize=320,213 320w, https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Andrew-Yang-09.jpg?resize=640,427 640w, https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Andrew-Yang-09.jpg?resize=940,627 940w, https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Andrew-Yang-09.jpg?resize=1600,1067 1600w" sizes="(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px" /><p id="caption-attachment-1625881" class="wp-caption-text">Voters sign up to support Yang.</p></div>
<div id="attachment_1625892" style="width: 1610px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1625892" class="size-hero-xl wp-image-1625892" src="https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Andrew-Yang-22.jpg?quality=80&strip=all&w=1600" alt="" width="1600" height="1067" srcset="https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Andrew-Yang-22.jpg 6720w, https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Andrew-Yang-22.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Andrew-Yang-22.jpg?resize=50,33 50w, https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Andrew-Yang-22.jpg?resize=160,107 160w, https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Andrew-Yang-22.jpg?resize=320,213 320w, https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Andrew-Yang-22.jpg?resize=640,427 640w, https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Andrew-Yang-22.jpg?resize=940,627 940w, https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Andrew-Yang-22.jpg?resize=1600,1067 1600w" sizes="(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px" /><p id="caption-attachment-1625892" class="wp-caption-text">Dave Waters (center) listens as Yang speaks during the Boone County Democracy Ball in Boone, Iowa on April 27.</p></div>
<div id="attachment_1625882" style="width: 1610px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1625882" class="size-hero-xl wp-image-1625882" src="https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Andrew-Yang-10.jpg?quality=80&strip=all&w=1600" alt="" width="1600" height="1067" srcset="https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Andrew-Yang-10.jpg 6720w, https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Andrew-Yang-10.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Andrew-Yang-10.jpg?resize=50,33 50w, https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Andrew-Yang-10.jpg?resize=160,107 160w, https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Andrew-Yang-10.jpg?resize=320,213 320w, https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Andrew-Yang-10.jpg?resize=640,427 640w, https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Andrew-Yang-10.jpg?resize=940,627 940w, https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Andrew-Yang-10.jpg?resize=1600,1067 1600w" sizes="(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px" /><p id="caption-attachment-1625882" class="wp-caption-text">Chandler McMullen (right), 20, cheers ass Yang speaks during the Reaching Rural Voters Rural Caucus Forum.</p></div>
<div id="attachment_1625884" style="width: 1610px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1625884" class="size-hero-xl wp-image-1625884" src="https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Andrew-Yang-12.jpg?quality=80&strip=all&w=1600" alt="" width="1600" height="1067" srcset="https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Andrew-Yang-12.jpg 6720w, https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Andrew-Yang-12.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Andrew-Yang-12.jpg?resize=50,33 50w, https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Andrew-Yang-12.jpg?resize=160,107 160w, https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Andrew-Yang-12.jpg?resize=320,213 320w, https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Andrew-Yang-12.jpg?resize=640,427 640w, https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Andrew-Yang-12.jpg?resize=940,627 940w, https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Andrew-Yang-12.jpg?resize=1600,1067 1600w" sizes="(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px" /><p id="caption-attachment-1625884" class="wp-caption-text">Yang talks with supporters.</p></div>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">So far, Yang’s strategy has whipped up grassroots support. He&#8217;s <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/who-is-that-guy-andrew-yangs-presidential-campaign-draws-crowds-money-and-an-expected-spot-on-the-democratic-debate-stage/2019/05/09/c1bf788c-6c5e-11e9-8f44-e8d8bb1df986_story.html?utm_term=.a28d0a26fea4">raised $2 million</a> (paywall) from more than 65,000 supporters, enough to win a spot on the Democratic primary debate stage in June. His fans lean millennial, left, and young, but (as with Trump) he&#8217;s scrambled voters&#8217; partisan allegiances. His <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=32&v=gaN0I4-f3fM">campaign video</a> features plaudits from far-right Fox News host Tucker Carlson and Rev. Al Sharpton. Even the &#8220;alt-right&#8221; crowd, which Yang has <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2019/3/9/18256622/andrew-yang-2020-president-meme-yanggang">repeatedly denounced,</a> has glommed onto his presidential bid. </span></p>
<div id="attachment_1625890" style="width: 1610px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1625890" class="size-hero-xl wp-image-1625890" src="https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Andrew-Yang-20.jpg?quality=80&strip=all&w=1600" alt="" width="1600" height="1067" srcset="https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Andrew-Yang-20.jpg 6720w, https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Andrew-Yang-20.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Andrew-Yang-20.jpg?resize=50,33 50w, https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Andrew-Yang-20.jpg?resize=160,107 160w, https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Andrew-Yang-20.jpg?resize=320,213 320w, https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Andrew-Yang-20.jpg?resize=640,427 640w, https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Andrew-Yang-20.jpg?resize=940,627 940w, https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Andrew-Yang-20.jpg?resize=1600,1067 1600w" sizes="(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px" /><p id="caption-attachment-1625890" class="wp-caption-text">Yang speaks during an Instagram livestream en route to an event in Iowa.</p></div>
<div class="mceTemp"></div>
<div id="attachment_1625885" style="width: 1610px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1625885" class="size-hero-xl wp-image-1625885" src="https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Andrew-Yang-13.jpg?quality=80&strip=all&w=1600" alt="" width="1600" height="1067" srcset="https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Andrew-Yang-13.jpg 6424w, https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Andrew-Yang-13.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Andrew-Yang-13.jpg?resize=50,33 50w, https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Andrew-Yang-13.jpg?resize=160,107 160w, https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Andrew-Yang-13.jpg?resize=320,213 320w, https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Andrew-Yang-13.jpg?resize=640,427 640w, https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Andrew-Yang-13.jpg?resize=940,627 940w, https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Andrew-Yang-13.jpg?resize=1600,1067 1600w" sizes="(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px" /><p id="caption-attachment-1625885" class="wp-caption-text">Yang takes photos with supporters after speaking at the Reaching Rural Voters Rural Caucus Forum.</p></div>
<div id="attachment_1625887" style="width: 1610px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1625887" class="size-hero-xl wp-image-1625887" src="https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Andrew-Yang-16.jpg?quality=80&strip=all&w=1600" alt="" width="1600" height="1067" srcset="https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Andrew-Yang-16.jpg 6072w, https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Andrew-Yang-16.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Andrew-Yang-16.jpg?resize=50,33 50w, https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Andrew-Yang-16.jpg?resize=160,107 160w, https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Andrew-Yang-16.jpg?resize=320,213 320w, https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Andrew-Yang-16.jpg?resize=640,427 640w, https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Andrew-Yang-16.jpg?resize=940,627 940w, https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Andrew-Yang-16.jpg?resize=1600,1067 1600w" sizes="(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px" /><p id="caption-attachment-1625887" class="wp-caption-text">Yang high-fives a member of his &#8220;Yang Gang&#8221; of supporters.</p></div>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">With little to lose, Yang just keeps saying things that make people</span> <span class="s1"><i>believe.</i></span> <span class="s1">Nicholas Der, a</span> <span class="s1">27-year-old financial coach, <a href="https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2019/05/20/andrew-yang-2020-226931">told Politico</a> he had only learned of Yang a</span> <span class="s1">week before coming to</span> <span class="s1">his Iowa rally in May.</span> There, Yang was selling his freedom dividend and warning against an automation apocalypse. “What are the truck drivers going to do when the robot trucks come and start driving themselves?” <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/who-is-that-guy-andrew-yangs-presidential-campaign-draws-crowds-money-and-an-expected-spot-on-the-democratic-debate-stage/2019/05/09/c1bf788c-6c5e-11e9-8f44-e8d8bb1df986_story.html?utm_term=.a28d0a26fea4">Yang asked</a> (paywall). That was enough for Der. <span class="s1">“Two minutes in, I was like, ‘I love this dude,’” Der said. “He is the truth.” </span></p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">The thirst for truth is found in many voters these days. After transitioning from the hopeful talk of the Obama era to the hangover</span><span class="s1"> of the Trump administration, some Democratic voters want a hard break from conventional politics. </span><span class="s1">Yang has been happy to </span><span class="s1">stake out such positions.</span><span class="s1"> His <a href="https://www.yang2020.com/">website</a> has 80 policy proposals.</span><span class="s1"> If a position exists, you&#8217;re likely to find it there. P</span>ay NCAA college athletes. Free marriage counseling. Empowering mixed martial arts fighters. Abolish the penny. Automatic voter registration. Make Puerto Rico a state. Revitalize American malls.</p>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">Many sound like gimmicks. But his message boils down to the argument that the American social contract is broken. </span><span class="s1">The old divide between socialism and capitalism no longer works. In an economy dominated by robots and software</span><span class="s1">, he argues, we need to rethink everything. &#8220;</span><span class="s1">The problem is the government is outdated and dysfunctional, and doesn’t have the ability to update itself,&#8221; he told Quartz last year. &#8220;You need to rewrite the operating system of the government.&#8221; </span><span class="s1">Failing to do so, he said, is &#8220;a sure path to dystopia.&#8221;</span></p>
<div id="attachment_1625891" style="width: 1610px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1625891" class="size-hero-xl wp-image-1625891" src="https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Andrew-Yang-21.jpg?quality=80&strip=all&w=1600" alt="" width="1600" height="1067" srcset="https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Andrew-Yang-21.jpg 6720w, https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Andrew-Yang-21.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Andrew-Yang-21.jpg?resize=50,33 50w, https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Andrew-Yang-21.jpg?resize=160,107 160w, https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Andrew-Yang-21.jpg?resize=320,213 320w, https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Andrew-Yang-21.jpg?resize=640,427 640w, https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Andrew-Yang-21.jpg?resize=940,627 940w, https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Andrew-Yang-21.jpg?resize=1600,1067 1600w" sizes="(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px" /><p id="caption-attachment-1625891" class="wp-caption-text">Yang talks with local Democrats during the Boone County Democracy Ball.</p></div>
<p class="p1"><span class="s1">Yang told Quartz last year, &#8220;I’m running to win. But if I mainstream a few of these issues, I will sleep well at night.” </span><span class="s1">That, of course, was 10 months and an obscurity ago. With warm receptions in places like Iowa, profiles in <a href="http://time.com/5587792/andrew-yang-presidential-candidate/">Time</a>, <a href="https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2019/05/20/andrew-yang-2020-226931">Politico</a>, and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/video/us/politics/100000006483925/who-is-andrew-yang-the-internets-favorite-candidate.html">the New York Times</a> (paywall), there&#8217;s a sense he has a shot. G</span>amblers keep raising odds in his favor (he was at <a href="https://electionbettingodds.com/DemPrimary2020.html">0% in March)</a>.</p>
<p class="p1">The thing about betting markets, <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/prediction-markets-give-diamond-in-the-rough-candidate-andrew-yang-better-odds-to-win-than-booker-warren-or-gillibrand">say researchers</a>, is they capture what political surveys often miss: early enthusiasm. I<span class="s1">t may be that most people simply haven’t heard of Yang yet. When they do on the Democrats&#8217; primary debate stage on June 26, it’s anyone’s guess what will happen next</span><strong><span class="s1">. </span></strong></p>
<div id="attachment_1625883" style="width: 1610px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-1625883" class="size-hero-xl wp-image-1625883" src="https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Andrew-Yang-11.jpg?quality=80&strip=all&w=1600" alt="" width="1600" height="1067" srcset="https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Andrew-Yang-11.jpg 6720w, https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Andrew-Yang-11.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Andrew-Yang-11.jpg?resize=50,33 50w, https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Andrew-Yang-11.jpg?resize=160,107 160w, https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Andrew-Yang-11.jpg?resize=320,213 320w, https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Andrew-Yang-11.jpg?resize=640,427 640w, https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Andrew-Yang-11.jpg?resize=940,627 940w, https://cms.qz.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Andrew-Yang-11.jpg?resize=1600,1067 1600w" sizes="(max-width: 1600px) 100vw, 1600px" /><p id="caption-attachment-1625883" class="wp-caption-text">Yang leaves the Reaching Rural Voters Rural Caucus Forum.</p></div>