Andrew Yang forms advocacy group to capitalize on defunct 2020 campaign

Former 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang has formed a new advocacy group, “Humanity Forward,” to continue pushing his political agenda.

The nonprofit group will focus on enacting policies such as universal basic income, treating data as a private property right, and “human-centered capitalism,” according to the group’s website.

“Our movement is only just the beginning,” the website states. “None of us can do this alone. And it will take all of us working together to bring the wave crashing down on Washington and rewrite the rules of our economy and society to work for us. A better world is still possible. Now’s the time to move Humanity Forward. Come fight with us.”

The group says it intends to endorse and fund political candidates who push for universal basic income and Mr. Yang’s political agenda, it aims to turnout younger potential voters who are not politically engaged, and it will make Mr. Yang’s ideas “mainstream.”

Mr. Yang, 45, never held elective office before running for president beginning in November 2017 and previously worked as a tech entrepreneur. Since exiting the race last month in New Hampshire, Mr. Yang scored a cable news gig as a political commentator on CNN and told BuzzFeed he is considering running for mayor of New York City.

Mr. Yang announced the formation of his new group on ABC daytime television show “The View,” and subsequently posted a video to social media asking for cash contributions to his new nonprofit. 

“We need your help, would love your support, donate five, 10, 20 dollars, 1,000 dollars if you’re rich,” Mr. Yang said in the video. “There’s no limit! The best thing would be to donate in a recurring fashion so that we can actually spec out exactly what the future looks like for the org.”

Mr. Yang’s new group will organize as 501(c)(4), which means it is not required to disclose its donors. A former aide to the Yang campaign aide told BuzzFeed the group would disclose certain major donors and that the group would, “be really honest about everything.”