Campaign Strategy Memo: 60 Days Down, 100 To Go – Andrew Yang’s Mayoral Momentum

He’s hard to miss! Over the course of the last 60 days, Andrew has visited all five boroughs, bumped elbows with hundreds of New Yorkers, held dozens and dozens of public events, and generated nonstop press coverage and social media chatter.  As anyone who has joined him on the trail knows, New Yorkers across race, age, gender, and ethnicity are excited by the forward looking nature of his candidacy and campaign. Andrew’s message – that a comeback is on the way – meets the moment and mood of the City.

There is a common through line between the places Andrew goes, the people he meets with, and the pictures he posts: New York is ready to be a bustling city again. Every day, Andrew demonstrates his understanding that New York’s recovery is not only administrative or keeping the bureaucracy churning.  It is about restoring the character of the City, reopening businesses, bringing back commuters and tourists and helping families get back to work to put food on their table. 

The numbers below quantify how New Yorkers are drawn to the hope that Andrew promises following a year of isolation and loss. It’s not just his name ID. It’s about him. People like Andrew and they are rooting for him like he’s rooting for New York. Any way you slice it, we have built a very solid foundation and are poised to deliver over the next 100 days.  

The First 60 Days: By the Numbers

• 32% in last week’s Emerson poll with Andrew holding a double-digit lead across a multiracial coalition. An additional 9% rank him second.
• $6.5 million raised, including matchable donations (pending CFB approval).
• $2,100,000+ in direct contributions.
• 15,600 donors, the most donors for any mayoral primary campaign in the City’s history in just 2 months. For context, Mayor de Blasio had 12,252 donors in all of 2013.
• $570,000+ in matchable funds from 6,300 donors in New York City alone. That’s over 100 new New Yorkers a day contributing on average.
• More than 16.8 million have viewed Yang for NY videos across all platforms and Andrew’s Twitter account has reached 476 million people with 4 million engagements.
• 17 million ad impressions across platforms driving 650,000 page views as part of a $100,000+ omnichannel paid digital strategy.
• 4,600 volunteers have: filled over 13,800 volunteer shifts.
• 300,000+ texts sent to voters.
• Hosted 45 in-person volunteer events safely outdoors, including events for voter registration/engagement, signature gathering, and for our Get Out the Vax (GOTVax) program.
• Volunteer Slack channel established with nearly 1,000 volunteers who have self-organized to build useful tools like a citywide events map.
• All five boroughs visited. Andrew has done dozens of safe, in-person events across the City, leading other candidates to get out more. Andrew even de-escalated a situation on the Staten Island Ferry.
• Taking an “all of the above” approach to Andrew’s media appearances. This past week was instructive. Andrew was featured or interviewed in multiple rotations on the top three AM stations in the NY market, accounting for about 10% of all radio listeners; he was on several local TV channels for his Freelancers Union co-endorsement; his Fast Company Q&A was prominently featured on the the site’s homepage; his subway fare holiday received coverage in the Daily News, NY Post, Politico, and AMNY; his position on hate crimes was featured on NBC Today Show; he played Quiplash on Twitch and livestreamed it; he released a playlist on Spotify; and he will be on MSNBC with Joshua Johnson tonight.

NYC + Andrew Yang

New Yorkers knew Andrew from the presidential race and have a favorable impression of him. Now they are seeing him as a New Yorker of 25 years, a public school parent, and potentially, our next mayor. The more they see of him, the more excited they get. 

With every meeting, walking tour, bike ride, subway commute, dance break, or conversation, people see that the City needs a new kind of leadership that Andrew can provide. New Yorkers are looking for someone who can get our City working again and cares about people. That’s Andrew.  People questioned whether Andrew’s support was real. Not only was it very real but it’s significantly higher than any other candidate’s and it is growing every single day.Whether it’s polling, volunteers, donations, media, social media or on-the-street excitement, this campaign has all of the energy and momentum.  

The Path To Victory

In less than two months, we have built a foundation and team that are on a path to win this election. We’ll do that primarily by getting Andrew in front of as many New Yorkers as possible. We have built a volunteer army that wasn’t told which candidate to support by their club or union, but who chose to give up their time because they believe in Andrew and his vision for this City. Our digital team is the best in the business and our ability to stay at the forefront of New Yorkers’ attention is second to none. When New Yorkers meet Andrew or hear his message about reopening the City, bringing people safely back, creating good jobs, and building a future for their families, they are excited and optimistic.  We’re 100 days from the primary and Andrew’s message is crystal clear – hope is on the way.

- Sasha Ahuja and Chris Coffey, Co-Campaign Managers for Yang for New York