Yang hits donation requirements to get city funds in NYC mayor’s race

Andrew Yang hit the donation requirements in order to obtain matching city funding in the New York City mayor’s race, the former 2020 Democratic presidential candidate confirmed on Sunday.

Yang, a technology entrepreneur, announced in a Sunday tweet that his campaign had passed the threshold of receiving $250,000 from at least 1,000 donors in the city. 

Now, each dollar from New York City residents in small contributions, with a maximum of $250, can be matched by up to $8 in public funds, reaching a maximum of $2,000 per contributor. 

“Thank you to everyone who helped make this happen – the fastest campaign to hit the matching threshold with the most grassroots donors!” he posted. “Every small donation from NYCers now gets matched 8 to 1!  We are on our way.”

Thank you to everyone who helped make this happen – the fastest campaign to hit the matching threshold with the most grassroots donors! Every small donation from NYCers now gets matched 8 to 1! We are on our way. https://t.co/aJH8sQFZOv https://t.co/ZKTVLtoc8u

— Andrew Yang (@AndrewYang) February 14, 2021

Yang’s campaign in a memo obtained by The Hill said it expects to collect more than $2 million in matching public funds once the city confirms it surpassed the requirement. 

Overall, the campaign reported that it has received $1 million from more than 11,000 donors, including both residents and nonresidents, with the average donation equal to $84 in the one month since Yang announced his candidacy. 

“Despite entering the race months, or even years, after other candidates, we have quickly raised over $250,000 in 8:1 matchable donations from New York City residents to qualify for matching funds from the City, the fastest campaign to reach the matching funds threshold in the race,” campaign managers Sasha Ahuja and Chris Coffey wrote in the memo.

“We are proud to be a people-powered campaign reliant on small-dollar donations, demonstrating how Andrew’s bold ideas for New York City are resonating widely with the electorate,” they added. 

The former 2020 presidential contender will be the fourth candidate to reach matching funds status, behind attorney Maya Wiley, Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams and City Comptroller Scott Stringer, Politico reported.  

Last week, a poll from Fontas Advisors and Core Decision Analytics determined that Yang had 28 percent support among likely Democratic primary voters, a double-digit lead ahead of his closest competitor Adams, who received 17 percent.

Since entering the race, Yang has received criticism for not voting in several national and local elections, which he defended, saying, “I think I’m one of a large number of New Yorkers who perhaps didn’t have very strong allegiances one way or another to a candidate” after the primaries. 

Yang tested positive for COVID-19 earlier this month, saying he will quarantine until cleared by his doctor.