Andrew Yang, said to be considering mayoral bid, tested in new online poll

[brooklynite]

Politico

NEW YORK — Former presidential hopeful Andrew Yang, who advocated for a “universal basic income” during the Democratic primary, is now the subject of a poll that tests New York City voters' appetites for a third-party candidate in the upcoming mayoral race.

Yang was also among 11 people listed in a question assessing responders’ top picks in the Democratic primary to succeed Mayor Bill de Blasio next June, according to an online survey targeting Manhattan residents through a Facebook ad and shared with POLITICO by someone who took it.

The poll did not indicate it was being conducted on Yang’s behalf, the person said, but several questions focused on his potential candidacy — something his team said he was weighing as recently as last month. Others asked respondents to gauge a nameless candidate, whose description closely matched Yang’s profile.

The poll specifically tested one's viability as an independent candidate, which would allow Yang to skip the crowded primary and spend more time raising funds for a general election next November. Registered Democrats vastly outnumber Republicans and unaffiliated voters in the city, and New Yorkers rarely select mayors off the Democratic line. Mike Bloomberg and Rudy Giuliani both won as Republicans during times of significant crisis, and in Bloomberg’s case only after significantly outspending his opponents.

FWIW - Ranked Choice Voting only applies to the PRIMARY phase of the NYC election.

[Bayard]

1. Wait a minute

I read a few weeks ago that Yang and his wife had moved to Georgia from Calif. to help with the runoff. How did NY enter the picture?

[brooklynite]

2. The GA election will be over on Jan 10...the NYC Election is in November.