Andrew Yang opens up huge lead in race to be next New York City mayor
Former presidential candidate now clear frontrunner to replace Bill de Blasio
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Andrew Yang has opened up a huge lead in the race to become the next mayor of New York City, a new poll suggests.
The former presidential candidate is way out ahead of rival candidates in the Democratic primary and is now the clear frontrunner to replace Bill de Blasio.
Mr Yang, a tech entrepreneur and CNN political commentator, has 28 per cent support among likely Democratic primary voters, according to the poll from Fontas Advisors and Core Decision Analytics.
Mr Yang’s closest rival, Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, had 17 per cent support, while New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer had 13 per cent.
Former Obama administration official Shaun Donovan , and activist Maya Wiley, were tied in fourth spot with eight per cent.
Andrew Yang takes NYC mayoral campaign virtual after testing positive for coronavirus
Andrew Yang launches mayoral campaign, promising to give New Yorkers cash amid backlash over living situation
Ex-presidential candidate Andrew Yang joins NYC mayoral race
Millionaire Andrew Yang mocked for saying he couldn’t work at home with kids in two-bedroom apartment
Mr Yang developed a national profile during his run for the 2020 presidential nomination, and has a strong online following with 1.9 million Twitter followers.
And that translates into him having the highest name recognition in the primary race, with 84 per cent of those polled knowing who he is.
Mr Yang has argued for a universal basic income, which would see all adult Americans paid $1,000 a month.
He was diagnosed with coronavirus last week and is currently in quarantine. He has been critical of white New Yorkers getting vaccinated at a quicker rate than minority communities.
The primary for both Democrats and Republicans will take place on 22 June, followed by a general election on 2 November.
The poll was taken from 842 online interviews with likely Democratic voters in New York City and has a sampling error of 3.38 percentage points.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments