Andrew Yang Is The Only Candidate With A Net Positive Favorability Rating, Says Nationwide Poll
A new Monmouth University national poll of registered voters found little change in the overall support for candidates in the 2020 Democratic field, with Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders, and Elizabeth Warren still leading the back. But in terms of favorability ratings, Andrew Yang was the only Democratic presidential candidate with a net positive.
Specifically, The Venture for America founder’s 33 percent favorable and 29 percent unfavorable rating means he is the only person in the field that has a nominally positive net rating amid the group of registered voters surveyed.
“It may be time for Yang to start making the electability argument,” said Patrick Murray, director of the independent Monmouth University Polling Institute.
Last week, it was reported that Yang was the only candidate favored to beat Donald Trump in BetOnline’s head-to-head prop wagers on the 2020 election. While Yang has odds of -150 to Trump’s +110, all of the other candidates were favored to lose to the president — except for Sanders, who is even with a betting line of -120.
The 44-year-old serial entrepreneur is currently in sixth place in overall polling average ahead of the forthcoming Iowa caucuses. In a Boston Globe–Suffolk University poll released Tuesday, Yang placed in fifth in the early state of New Hampshire with 5.6 percent support, The Hill reported. Behind him was Tulsi Gabbard at 5.4 percent and Amy Klobuchar at 4.6 percent,
In a recent Iowa ad, Yang pointed to his outsider status and touted business experience to pose himself as the best person to successfully take on Trump, per The Hill.
“I’m the only candidate to build a nonprofit that created thousands of jobs in places from St. Louis to Baltimore,” he said in the ad, claiming he can “build a 21st-century economy” that works for everyday Americans.
@AndrewYang speaks directly to the camera in his latest TV ad. Spot first aired at 05:08 in Davenport, Iowa, on WQAD (ABC). pic.twitter.com/CJE67MKKiI
— John McCormick (@McCormickJohn) January 22, 2020
“The hard truth is we won’t beat Donald Trump with what’s coming out of Washington today — old ideas and angry rhetoric,” he continued. “Donald Trump is a symptom of a broken system. To defeat him, we need someone with experience tackling the economic challenges of our time. I’ve done that.”
Yang’s signature proposal is a universal basic income (UBI) of $1,000 per month — branded the “Freedom Dividend” — which he proposes to pay for by taxing the biggest winners of the 21st-century economy. He believes this dividend is a necessary cushion as automation continues to displace the jobs of everyday working Americans and hollow out the United States economy.
The Iowa caucuses begin on February 3. Yang reportedly has millions in cash on hand and doesn’t show any signs of dropping out of the race anytime soon.
