Andrew Yang Raises $2.8 Million In Second Quarter Donations

Politico reports that Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang has raised $2.8 million during this year’s second quarter. According to his campaign, 99.6 percent of the quarter’s donations were from small donors contributing less than $200. Although Yang’s number is much less than the current front-runners such as Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders, OpenSecrets reports that — along with Jay Inslee — Yang is the only contender running with zero money from outside sources.

Regardless, Yang’s $2 million is equal to or more than several other traditional candidates outside of the front-runners. For example, Michael Bennet raised $2.8 million, Steve Bullock raised $2 million, and John Hickenlooper raised just over $1 million.

Spencer Kimball, director of Emerson Polling, says that the number suggests the Democratic field “is still fluid and that Biden will need to improve upon his performance to maintain his lead.”

Despite many considering Yang to be a long-shot candidate due to his lack of political experience, his strong online following and grassroots support earned him a spot on the first debate stage. In addition, he will also be appearing on the second debate stage. As for the second and third debates, he has cleared the 130,000-donor mark and now needs to gain 2 percent in four approved online polls.

Although it’s not an approved poll, The Inquisitr reported that Yang recently reached 3 percent in a new Emerson Polling survey, placing him behind Mayor Pete Buttigieg’s 5 percent and Beto O’Rourke’s 4 percent. Unlike Yang, both Buttigieg and O’Rourke received outside money — $403,503 and $2,860,000 — for their campaigns.

Democrat Andrew Yang wants to end robocalls as president https://t.co/6dAv78RKPo

— MLive (@MLive) July 9, 2019

Yang recently made an appearance on The View in which he introduced viewers to his platform, which centers around a universal basic income (UBI) of $1,000 monthly, or “Freedom Dividend,” for every American over the age of 18. He plans to pay for this dividend in part by taxing big tech companies like Amazon and Google, which he claims are reaping the most rewards for the automation that is displacing workers around the United States.

The 44-year-old entrepreneur also claims that UBI will help women in “exploitative” jobs and relationships.

“The #FreedomDividend would recognize the work that isn’t valued by the market, like caregiving, that is performed disproportionately by women. Putting cash into the hands of women also would empower them to leave exploitative jobs or relationships,” Yang wrote on Twitter.

In addition to combating job loss due to automation and helping women, Yang also claims a UBI would save $100 billion to more than $200 billion thanks to people taking better care of their health and decreased incarceration rates, per Fox News.