Andrew Yang is currently in the lead to become New York City’s next mayor.
The 46-year-old entrepreneur and politician received 28% support, according to a recent poll.
Behind Yang is Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, who received 17% support, and New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer, who received 13% support.
One of the ideas Yang promoted during his 2020 Democratic presidential campaign was universal basic income. His run for presidency helped him create a name in the political world, and it gave him an early advantage in the mayoral campaign, The Hill noted.
Rumors that Yang would be a potential candidate to run for mayor in New York City floated around last December. The entrepreneur made his candidacy official last month when he began his campaign with actor Daniel Dae Kim.
The recent poll, commissioned by New York lobbying group Fontas Advisors and conducted by Core Decision Analytics, surveyed 842 Democratic voters online from Jan. 20 through Jan. 25, according to Politico.
Some issues New York City primary voters raised in the poll include the COVID-19 pandemic and the revival of the city’s economy.
With New York City being one of the hardest-hit cities in the United States, 30% of New York City primary voters said that preventing the spread of COVID-19 and distributing vaccines should be the most important concerns for the next mayor. Meanwhile, 19% said that reopening the city’s economy and creating new jobs will be the new mayor’s biggest challenges.
The poll also reflects the impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on its residents, with over half of the respondents (57%) saying that they experienced economic harm.
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