Andrew Yang delivered his speech late on February 3, while Iowa caucus results were still unknown. The Iowa caucus is the first indication of how a candidate will do in the race to become the Democratic presidential nominee. Although there is only a small proportion of delegates up for grabs in Iowa, it’s a chance for a candidate to gain momentum over the next weeks and months of caucuses and primaries.
Candidates had to make their speeches before the results were announced due to delays in the process. Check out the video below for Andrew Yang’s full speech.
He started by thanking his wife, Evelyn Yang, who was by his side during his speech, as well as his team of supporters who made “tonight a tremendous night for the Yang gang.”
He reflected on how far the campaign had come in the past two years since he declared his candidacy. He recalled the first debates when there were 20 candidates and the debates had to be broken up in two events, compared to the upcoming debate on February 7 when he will be one of only seven candidates on the debate stage in New Hampshire.
He explained how important it is for Americans to start “measuring how we’re doing by how we are doing and not how these giant companies are doing, because the two are no longer lining up.” He explains that his campaign is about solving problems by putting economic resources in the people’s hands so they can solve their own problems.
He adds that this movement has already “shocked the political world” and that’s what matters to him the most. He finishes with a rousing call to his supporters that his campaign is going to go “all the way.”
Partial Results Were Announced on February 4
The Iowa Democratic Party released 62% of the votes during a conference on February 4. During the conference, many people expressed their frustration and lack of trust in the results, especially as a large portion of the results is still unknown.
The first wave of results is available here, with the caveat that “National Convention Delegates will not be published until all precincts and satellite sites have reported.”
The results have Yang at 5.2% of the popular vote, which he addressed on Twitter:
Early returns in Iowa have us at 5.2% of the popular vote. Not far from projections going in – THANK YOU to everyone who worked hard to get us there. 😀👍🙏
He added: “I’ll be interested in the remaining Iowa vote totals as I think there are many counties on the outskirts where we performed very well that have not yet come in.”
Yang also said that he is looking forward to the New Hampshire primary where “voting is far easier” and where he hopes his message will resonate with more voters.
Now to see if we can top that several times over in NH where MANY more people vote on a percentage basis and voting is far easier AND the message hits home most directly. I think we can.
There Is Still No Word for When to Expect Full Results
It is still not known when the results for the Iowa caucus will be announced. The caucus went ahead according to schedule on February 3 and the results were widely expected to be available within a few hours. However, because of issues with the app used for reporting results, there is still no clear information on the caucus results.
Yang made his feelings clear about the delays on Twitter, posting “It might be helpful to have a President and government that understand technology so this sort of thing doesn’t happen.”
It might be helpful to have a President and government that understand technology so this sort of thing doesn’t happen.
He added in a later tweet that Monday’s caucus taught him this race was a “muddled mess,” meaning there is a growing opportunity for the Yang campaign due to the lack of a clear front runner. He is now turning his focus to New Hampshire, which he says will be “more important than ever.”
Yang Is Now In New Hampshire Preparing For the Primary
The next step in the primary schedule is the New Hampshire Democratic primary on February 11.
Yang is already in New Hampshire preparing for the primary, having flown there directly from the Iowa caucus.
Landed in New Hampshire – thank you to the #YangGang who got up to greet us! 😀👍
Andrew Yang, along with seven other candidates, will be participating in a town hall put on by CNN. Yang will be appearing for his segment on February 5, during which he will answer questions from the audience and a CNN moderator.
There is also another key date in the calendar, and that’s the next Democratic debate, which will take place on Friday, February 7. The New Hampshire debate will take place at St. Anselm College in Manchester, NH, co-hosted by ABC, WMUR and Apple News.
On January 26, Andrew Yang became the 7th candidate to qualify for this debate, as reported by NPR.
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