A lot can be done with $1,000 a month. It can help a low income family so they don’t have to worry about not being able to feed their kids, or bring some weight off the shoulders of a young college student. Andrew Yang wants to make this happen for every American and his campaign is growing stronger than ever. 

Before the past few months most had probably never heard the name Andrew Yang before. But now, Andrew Yang is becoming more and more of a serious presidential candidate. He had never held an elected office before, but through the power of good ideas, this Patriot has made his way to the biggest debate stage in America.

When I first heard of Andrew Yang I had my doubts. I thought he was more of a “joke” candidate, and didn’t really have a serious chance due to the big names of senators and former vice-presidents clouding up the media. Yang though, has surprised everyone. He has outlasted 3 Senators, 3 Governors, 2 Mayors, and 5 Members of Congress. One of the best parts is that his campaign is almost entirely funded by small donors like me and you, so his run for president really is for and by the people.

Andrew Yang calls his dedicated fan base the Yang Gang, and he spends a lot of time interacting with them through Instagram, Twitter, and holding lots of community events where his supports can volunteer to spend a day campaigning for Yang and in return get to meet Yang and listen to him speak.

Yang’s large social media presence and understanding of youth culture has been a large part of his supporter base rapidly spreading online. A lot of Yang’s supporters are younger people, either in college or freshly out – which attracts them to his signature cause, the Freedom Dividend.

The freedom dividend grants every American citizen over the age of 18 a thousand dollars per month. That’s $12,000 a year for everyone. Everyone. Yang said on Twitter, “I’m literally trying to give everybody money.”

This prospect is admittedly, scary. My biggest doubt when I first discovered Yang was how could you possibly pay for that? Yang, though, unlike most politicians nowadays, (which is one of the best parts, he’s NOT a politician), has all of his policies and plans totally laid out on his website, a thoroughness and clarity I have not seen in any other candidate.

The Democratic Party Leadership in Iowa said this on Yang’s campaign, “Mr. Yang has the most detailed and comprehensive set of policy proposals we have ever seen at this stage in the campaign.”

That’s the part that I find most fascinating about Yang’s story; he’s not a politician. He was just a tech entrepreneur who had ideas and saw something happening in his country that he didn’t like, and decided to do something about it.

Yang wants to make life for Americans better. He wants to instate a Freedom Dividend, and stop Artificial Intelligence or Robots from taking jobs away from real people. Yang is a business entrepreneur, and says that, “The economy is not prepared to absorb the loss of so many jobs.”

Andrew Yang is proof that America still works. That you don’t have to be a long time serving senator with a political family history in order to get your ideas out there. If you’re genuinely trying to be good, people will notice, and they will hear you. And those people that hear you will want to share your ideas and will support you. 

The Yang Gang is possibly the most active support base out of any of the Democratic candidates for its size. His fundraising went up 65% in quarter 4, (raising $16.5 million), and he is still growing.

Yang has qualified for all but one of the Democratic debates. Yang was the last candidate of color on the stage before narrowly missing the threshold to make it onto the debate stage on January 14th. He has since qualified for the next Democratic debate on February 7th, in New Hampshire, remaining the only candidate of color on the stage.

People saw Yang’s chances at winning the nomination as a joke more than anything, but again and again he proved them wrong by making it back onto the debate stage every time, despite getting the least speaking time and fewer questions than any other candidate.

The Yang Gang is strong, his supporters are dedicated and seriously want to see him succeed. Whether or not this election might be Yang’s time for political greatness could be up for debate. But in Yang I see the opportunity for a future politician who could make genuine change. No strings attached to big corporations, but a man who is genuinely doing what he thinks will be best for the country.

Andrew Yang is what our founding fathers wanted for our country. He is proof that our country still works. And he is making a huge difference whether he wins the nomination or not. People won’t just forget that he exists, and his key issues have been brought into the light and will have to be addressed at some point by whomever may occupy the Oval Office next January. Yang is not an explosion in the sense of a grenade, but more of a Big Bang of a political revolution for the everyday American.