Andrew Yang Supporters Trend #PollThePeople In Response To DNC
Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang recently pressed the Democratic National Committee (DNC) to commission new early-state polls ahead of the January presidential debate. The candidate needs three more DNC-approved qualifying polls to take the stage and made the request following a lack of surveys during the holidays.
The DNC rejected Yang’s request, per The Hill, which has prompted his supporters to push #PollThePeople — which was initially used by Yang to address his appeal to the DNC — into the top Twitter trends.
“We need the @DNC to #PollThePeople,” Yang tweeted, linking to The Daily Beast report that covered his request. “Between now and January 10, the DNC should commission four early state qualifying polls in Iowa, New Hampshire, Nevada, and South Carolina, where all the candidates have invested their time, resources, and staff.”
Yang and his campaign manager, Zach Graumann, both noted that it has been 47 days since a qualifying poll in early states like Iowa, New Hampshire, or Nevada.
The candidate’s senior campaign adviser, Steve Marchand, also pushed the hashtag along with his thoughts.
“The purpose of the polling criteria was to give candidates a chance to work the early states, shine in the debates, & then measure the fruit of that labor. But if there are no polls between debates, the whole concept falls apart. Pls get on this.”
I agree with @AndrewYang – the race has changed since the last early state polls over 40 days ago. @TheDemocrats should require more early state polls to ensure the most diverse field possible and to reflect the current support of voters in the early states.
— Tom Steyer (@TomSteyer) December 30, 2019
Yang supporter and universal basic income (UBI) advocate Scott Santens noted that over 400,000 Americans have donated to Yang’s campaign and want to see him on the January debate stage, adding that a “sufficient number” of January surveys is necessary if polls are to be used as qualifiers.
“#PollThePeople to survey that support,” Santens tweeted to DNC chair Tom Perez.
One Yang supporter also touched on the importance of polls and claimed that some supporters have complained that Yang has not been present as a choice on some.
.@AndrewYang: "Iowa is pivotal but we're seeing strength in all the early states." pic.twitter.com/PiGqDaASEC
— The Hill (@thehill) December 29, 2019
Yang’s campaign also issued a response to the DNC’s reaction to Yang’s call for more polls, noting that the governing body responded to the press before the 44-year-old serial entrepreneur. According to a senior campaign official, this decision is a “key indicator” of the DNC’s “priorities.”
It’s not the first time Yang’s campaign has clashed with the DNC over debate requirements. As The Inquisitr previously reported, a similar spat took place when Yang announced that he had qualified for the fall debates, only for the DNC to reject one of the polls used for qualification. Regardless, Yang ended up qualifying for the debates not long after.
