With entrepreneur Andrew Yang out of the race, the big question is which candidate his supporters will now back.
What some may be surprised to hear is that not all of them will choose another Democratic candidate. According to The Hill’s Saager Enjeti, some Yang Gang members now plan to vote for President Trump.
He shared a couple of their messages on Twitter.
Hearing from some members of the Yang Gang who now say they will vote Trump 2020 because they want to support a working class candidate but don't like Bernie's culturally woke element. Interesting phenomenon
— Saagar Enjeti (@esaagar) February 13, 2020
A 28-year-old father of two was inspired by Yang because of his message of unity. The man said he was turned off by Democrats’ demonization of anyone in the middle or leaning right.
“I share both liberal and conservative views, and I am not a huge fan of Donald trump,” he said, adding that he can’t imagine supporting any of the other Democratic candidates. “Trump keeps things real I may not like what he says all the time, but who we see is who he is.”
While the same could be said for Sen. Bernie Sanders, the man explained that having a Democratic socialist president “would devastate our economy.”
Here is one member of the Yang Gang who explained his decision to me (and gave permission to post) pic.twitter.com/PRfrFQWkLu
— Saagar Enjeti (@esaagar) February 13, 2020
Another respondent agreed that Yang’s unifying message is what drew them to his campaign. The former Bernie voter said they will support Trump in the 2020 election “because of the way ‘the left’ and very liberal supporters dogged my man since day one cuz he doesn’t go with the grain when it comes to wokeness which we all know [is] bullsh*t.”
The person has turned against the current crop of Democratic candidates because they offer no real solutions.
Another Yang Gang -> Trump voter shares his thoughts pic.twitter.com/ovy0GylRFu
— Saagar Enjeti (@esaagar) February 13, 2020
A recent Stanford University/Reality Check survey of Yang supporters shows President Trump is the second most popular alternative to the tech entrepreneur.
"Of the 200 Yang supporters surveyed in the hours after the businessman threw in the towel at Tuesday’s New Hampshire primary, 11 percent of people said they would now support re-electing Trump," the New York Post reports.
Stanford university graduates and Reality Check pollsters Benjamin Leff and Sam Riber said this is because Yang and Trump have a similar message on the importance of job creation on US soil.
“Yang’s message of job loss due to technological change likely resonated with previous Trump supporters whole felt excluded from America’s modern economy,” Leff said. (NYP)
Sanders was the most popular alternative to Yang, with 33 percent support.