Andrew Yang raises $1 million after stipend offer during debate

Democratic presidential hopeful Andrew Yang has brought in $1 million in donations and gotten 450,000 email entries through the weekend, after he offered at last week’s debate to give 10 American families a $1,000-per-month stipend for a year.

Mr. Yang’s campaign announced the numbers on Monday, as candidates race to post solid fundraising numbers before the end-of-quarter deadline at the end of September. He raised about $2.8 million in April, May, and June.

Mr. Yang, a tech entrepreneur, invited the public during last week’s debate to go to his website and explain how $1,000 per month could help them. His “freedom dividend” proposal is one of Mr. Yang’s best-known policy priorities.

On Sunday, he defended the legality of the offer, saying he had lawyers who signed off on it.

“But I do want to reflect for a moment … on the fact that if I gave a million dollars to media company or consultants or hired like a small army of canvassers, no one would blink an eye, but if we give the money directly to the American people, somehow that’s problematic,” he said on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “So, it just speaks to how messed up our system is where giving money directly to Americans actually raises eyebrows.”