Andrew Yang and the Benefits of Running for President

picture by Marc Nozell via Wikimedia Commons

Andrew Yang, a person who has never held a political position and did not vote several times in the past two decades, has dominated New York City’s mayoral race over the past year and has a good chance of becoming mayor in January.

Many observers reading this sentence are instantly reminded of Donald Trump. In 2016, Trump became the first political neophyte who was not a general to ever be elected president. His rise led to prolonged anxiety about the nature and future of the American electoral system. It led to a reappraisal of all previously held assumptions about what one had to do in order to become president.

But Trump’s victory was partially due to our celebrity-obsessed culture and partially because he had been on television for decades. He was a known quantity, something that Yang was not three years ago. Instead, Yang’s rise can be attributed to the tool of the presidential campaign, a substance-light media circus that nevertheless can have a remarkable impact on the political system.

The presidential campaign is a tool that is tailor-made for our age of pseudo-events. There is always something happening to feed the 24-hour news cycle. The purpose of the event itself, the election of the chief executive of the world’s largest economy, is one of the most important in American life today. On top of this inherent interest, the news media adds the trappings of celebrity and the incentives of the 24-hour news cycle. There is always some press conference, social media conflict, or interview to cover. There are petty personality conflicts, heroes, villains, and filmable events such as town halls and debates. In the digital age, it is easier than ever for a candidate to take all of the attention of a presidential race and use it to further their own ends outside of that contest.

Even the most hopeless, listless presidential candidates gain national attention at least during their run. In 2016, the Democratic nominating contest came down early on to Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton. But the national media still gave attention to the other two candidates in the race. Jim Webb was known prior to his run, having been a senator with an impressive war record. The fourth candidate, Lincoln Chafee, had no chance of winning and little of Webb’s prominence. However, Chafee received hours of media attention for his handful of pet issues and his interesting past as a Republican turned Democrat. He was interviewed on late-night shows and was the subject of numerous write-ups in traditional media outlets.

Andrew Yang’s mayoral campaign has become the most successful test of this idea. Like Chafee, he emerged as a hopeless presidential candidate with a unique idea: universal basic income as a result of automation. But Yang had charisma, enthusiasm, and a commitment to building a coalition that Chafee did not. Yang reached much higher polling totals than Chafee could have dreamed of. Yang was also able to build on his run by remaining relevant and inserting himself into news stories long after he dropped out in February 2020.

As a result of Yang’s fame, the New York mayoral campaign has been to some degree centered on him. He does not have anywhere near the political experience or movement bona fides of many of his competitors. And yet, as a result of his presidential campaign he is a celebrity. Pundits follow his every move. Reporters jump on every quote and parse every awkward video he posts. His chances of becoming the next mayor of New York are higher than most of his competitors. He has received more attention than the comptrollers, borough presidents, and seasoned activists he is running against. While his polling lead has slipped slightly in recent weeks, his public image alone could be decisive as New York tries out ranked choice voting for the first time.

Yang’s mayoral campaign should serve as a warning to the Democratic Party. Its nominating process was designed to pick the candidate best suited to run for president. It was not meant to be a springboard for book deals, later mayoral runs, or lives of political fame. Like Republicans, Democrats should rethink their relationship with traditional and social media and how their nominating process fits with coverage of debates and personalities. Andrew Yang has shown that the alternative is the elevation of people who may do more for television ratings than the future of American democracy.