How Little Known Andrew Yang May End Up on the 2020 Debate Stage by Gaming the System

[Recursion]

Last edited Thu Mar 7, 2019, 10:53 AM - Edit history (1)

https://www.thedailybeast.com/how-little-known-andrew-yang-may-end-up-on-the-2020-debate-stage-by-gaming-the-system

Some presidential candidates build their campaigns on grassroots support. Others on personal wealth. Some ride a wave of discontent with the direction of the country. Others launch insurgencies within the party.

And in the year 2019, one candidate is trying to prove that you can find success by going heavy on podcasts and memes.

Andrew Yang has been a Democratic presidential candidate for well over a year. But chances are, you’ve never heard of him. He’s not a lawmaker. He has just over 90,000 Twitter followers. As of Dec. 31, 2018, his campaign committee had $38,730.78 cash on hand. He’s spent a grand total of $33,000 on Facebook ads. And has not run a single TV ad.

And yet, the self-proclaimed “entrepreneur who understands the economy” has somehow managed to get more than 47,000 individual donors to his campaign as of Wednesday night. It’s a figure that’s caught the attention of Democrats on other campaigns. But, more importantly, it’s one that places Yang close to a critical threshold. If that number rises to 65,000 over the next two months, he will qualify to participate in the first primary debate.

(Also I'm not clear how this is "gaming the system"; it's "meeting the system's stated requirements&quot

[FM123]

1. We Dems have a lot of good candidates to choose from and I think Yang is pretty terrific too!

He has some really good ideas about universal basic income and medicare that I like a lot.

[brooklynite]

2. No doubt with the same incredble success as Gravel in the first debate of 2008

[Recursion]

3. He's there to put issues on the table

I have no illusions about his surviving the primaries, but I think it will be to the benefit of the party to have him speak.

That said, he's a very good debater, so I expect given the chance he'll have some traction.

[dsc]

4. I wouldn't call this gaming the system

but I do have an immense problem with the source of some of these donations.

[Recursion]

7. Which ones?

I'm personally getting leery at how some parts of the alt right seem to be taking to Yang's message; it's something I'm keeping an eye on going forward.

[dsc]

8. yeah those would be the ones

I understand that his economic message can be popular divorced from racism but I don't want racist money sending a candidate to our debate stage.

[Omaha Steve]

12. There is a group on ActBlue asking for $1 donations to get him into the debate

Look here: https://secure.actblue.com/entity/fundraisers/55799

[AlexSFCA]

5. many are running to get voters excited and registered

this is a good strategy. To have as many candidates as possible to appeal to every voters. Asian-americans are often not very engaged in politics so maybe having an Asian american candidate will get those folks more interested. We need to tap into millions of non-voters.

[kcr]

6. I hope he does

He's the only candidate as far as I know that places UBI front and center in his platform, so I'd love to see his voice added to the mix.

[freedom2020]

9. i don't know

The republicans are going to be screaming that Democrats want "free money for everyone" (with the appropriate dog whistles) and imagine how that will play out in the GE.

[IronLionZion]

10. That would be spectacular

and he'll probably get it. Nice of the Daily Beast to show their bias by using the word "gaming" for meeting the stated requirements. And it's nice for them to provide this publicity so that more supporters will donate. It would be awesome to have him in the debates and his ideas gain traction.

It's the whole reason I declared for Yang here on DU.

[Gothmog]

11. I have a friend who runs a PAC supporting Yang

She is pushing for people to contribute $1 to Yang to get him into the debates. This tactic appears to be working

[Blue_true]

13. Thanks for the threshold number.

I can now see why Omaha Steve was working Senator Warren contributions, smart and ahead of the curve.

I definitely want to see Hickenlooper, Inslee and Bullard on that first debate stage, if Bullard enters.

[Garrett78]

14. Warren would likely qualify anyway due to polling numbers.

In order to qualify for the debates, Democratic candidates must either register 1 percent or higher in three polls—either national polls or those from the first four voting states. Candidates can also earn entry by demonstrating that their campaign has received donations from at least 65,000 unique donors with a minimum of 200 unique donors per state in at least 20 states. The candidates will be required to provide evidence of their fundraising with either ActBlue or NGP VAN.

If more than 20 candidates qualify for a debate, the top 20 will be selected with preference for those who meet both thresholds, “followed by the highest polling average, followed by the most unique donors,” the DNC said.

The DNC previously announced that it would hold 12 primary debates split between 2019 and 2020. Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Nevada—the first four voting states—will not be permitted to host the debates until 2020.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/democrats-reveal-how-2020-candidates-will-qualify-for-first-two-debates