Democrat Andrew Yang does the math, drops out of 2020 US presidential race in New Hampshire
- Andrew Yang campaigned on giving every adult American US$1,000 a month
- He remained in the contest longer than veteran politicians
Democrat Andrew Yang, an entrepreneur who created buzz for his presidential campaign by championing a universal basic income that would give every American adult US$1,000 per month, suspended his 2020 bid on Tuesday.
“I am the math guy, and it is clear to me from the numbers that we are not going to win this race,“ Yang said in front of a crowd of supporters as votes in New Hampshire’s first-in-the-nation primary were being counted.
“This is not an easy decision, or something I made lightly with the team. Endings are hard and I’ve always had the intention to stay in the race until the very end,” he added. “ But I have been persuaded that the message of this campaign will not be strengthened by my staying in the race any longer.”
The 45-year-old was one of the breakout stars of the Democratic primary race, building a following that started largely online but expanded to give him enough donors and polling numbers to qualify for the first six debates. Yang announced his departure from the race shortly before Colorado Senator Michael Bennet did Tuesday night, bringing the Democratic field to single digits.
He outlasted senators and governors, and after initially self-funding his campaign, he raised more money than most of his rivals, bringing in over US$16 million in the final quarter of last year. It was a bigger haul than all but the top four candidates: Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, former South Bend, Indiana, mayor Pete Buttigieg, former vice-president Joe Biden and Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren.