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Former presidential candidate Andrew Yang dropped out of the race for mayor of New York City on Tuesday night, citing early results that showed him trailing multiple rivals.
"I’m a numbers guy, I am not going to be the next mayor of New York City based upon the numbers coming in tonight,” Yang said at a press conference. “I am conceding this race.”
The announcement came two hours after polls closed, with Yang vowing to work with the next mayor. Eric Adams, a retired police officer and president of the Brooklyn Borough, is currently in the lead.
One of the most high-profile candidates, Yang ran on a platform similar to his proposal for universal basic income in the 2020 presidential race. He was backed by some prominent Asian Americans, including Rep. Grace Meng (D-New York).
But his campaign was polarizing. He drew backlash for his comments on people with mental illnesses — “We have the right to walk the street and not fear for our safety because a mentally ill person is going to lash out at us” — as well as his initial support for Israel in the Middle Eastern crisis before he backtracked. Last year, Yang also faced criticism for writing an opinion piece that claimed Asian Americans need to "show our American-ness" to combat anti-Asian racism.
By the time election day rolled around, several Asian Americans were pulling their support, including California congressional candidate David Kim and actor Steven Yeun. Over 900 AAPI New Yorkers wrote in an open letter that Yang's policy proposals, actions, and track record "do not uplift marginalized APIA, BIPOC, immigrant, and working class members of this city."
Worth noting: The tech entrepreneur was subject to a racist cartoon that depicted him walking out of the Times Square subway station as a nearby shopkeeper says, "The tourists are back!"
There are roughly 970,000 eligible Asian American voters in New York. AAPIs account for 9.4% of New York's total population, according to data collected by APIAVote in 2020.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
