Yang says he has left Democratic Party
By Monique Beals - 10/04/21 02:10 PM EDT
Former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang announced his departure from the Democratic Party today, describing the experience as "strangely emotional."
Yang announced in a statement on his website that he was opting to change his registration to become an independent voter.
"Breaking up with the Democratic Party feels like the right thing to do because I believe I can have a greater impact this way," Yang said.
Yang also acknowledged his experiences with thousands of Democrats during his previous presidential and mayoral bids.
"At first, many didn’t know what to make of the odd Asian candidate talking about giving everyone money. But over time I established deep relationships with some of the local leaders who have worked in party politics for years," he said of the experience.
Yang added that he was "confident that no longer being a Democrat is the right thing."
"Now that I’m not a member of one party or another, I feel like I can be even more honest about both the system and the people in it," he said.
Prior to his announcement today, Yang had been a Democrat since 1995.
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https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/575201-yang-says-he-has-left-democratic-party
