Andrew Yang may be throwing his weight behind President-Elect Joe Biden, but he’s eager to win a campaign of his own.
Former Democratic presidential candidate Yang told Yahoo Finance Live on Tuesday he would eagerly accept a role in Biden’s Cabinet, but also has greater political aspirations in the future.
“We all know if I ran again, it would be a lot more fun than the first time. Because the first time, you know, I was kind of climbing out of anonymity. The second time, you know, we'd have a blast from day one. I would 100% run for office again,” Yang said. “You know, not sure which office, but the problems again are getting bigger now, not smaller. And I'm happy to say I feel like my ability to help has also gotten bigger. I'm just going to keep on helping until some of these problems actually get better.”
Yang made headlines this week when he announced he is moving his family from New York to Georgia to campaign for Reverend Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff, two Democrats running for Senate in runoff elections on Jan. 5. The ability for Biden to pass anything through Congress depends on these two races, as Republicans currently have won 48 Senate seats and Democrats need the two (plus Vice President-elect Kamala Harris’s potentially tie-breaking vote) to achieve the majority.
“Our government’s not working, so I’m going to Georgia,” Yang told Yahoo Finance.
While he’s come around to rallying his fervent Yang Gang supporters around Biden, the underlying inequities and frustration that President Donald Trump tapped into when he won election in 2016 have not been ameliorated in the past four years. The country continues to be polarized, with Trump winning even more votes in 2020 than he did in 2016.
Biden’s message of healing the “soul of the nation” is a welcome respite from Trump’s divisive rhetoric, says Yang, but not nearly enough to cure the ailments he has seen firsthand. Yang famously ran on what was once considered a radical campaign of universal basic income, or the “freedom dividend,” which have now become central pieces of fiscal stimulus.
“We all know I was an enormous booster for Joe and Kamala and am thrilled the Trump era is ending, but having traveled this country not just during my presidential campaign but running Venture for America, the way of life is declining for thousands of communities around the country,” said Yang, referencing a nonprofit he founded that seeks to mobilize young entrepreneurs.
He added. “And if you have a sustained national message, it doesn't help their plants are closing, kids are leaving. We have to face facts about what the reality on the ground looks like for families around the country.”
Melody Hahm is Yahoo Finance’s West Coast correspondent, covering entrepreneurship, technology and culture. Follow her on Twitter @melodyhahm.
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