Businessman and former presidential candidate Andrew Yang has filed paperwork to run for mayor of New York City, the city’s campaign finance board confirmed on Wednesday.
Yang’s filing ability is to immediately raise a race that had long been taking shape as a contest between city politicians. This comes after a new poll when he found a slight edge among his Democrats running for mayor.
The Democratic primary for president sparked a huge following in the presidential primary with his call for universal basic income – $ 1,000 a month for every American over 18, no strings attached, funded by a tax on companies benefiting from automation. But, his widespread internet popularity did not translate into votes as he had expected.
He has been widely considered bidding for mayor, and the public policy polling poll released Monday to show him led by Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams was the second poll in recent weeks.
According to a PPP poll, Yang would receive 17 percent support in the Democratic primary. This gives him a 1 point lead over Adams, with all other candidates trailing by at least 10 points.
The field is far from set, however. Some 40 percent of voters said they were not sure who they would support, and the poll also excluded a number of announced or potential candidates, including Rep. Max Rose, who recently filed papers to ascertain a run.
NYC’s primary election will be held on June 22 next year. As of Tuesday, at least 35 people had done paperwork with the Finance Board to run the mayor.
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