Headed to Iowa

Happy week-after-Thanksgiving!  I hope that you had a wonderful holiday with loved ones.  Evelyn and I hosted a record number of relatives ourselves.

I have some exciting news to share – I have been invited to keynote the year-end event in Des Moines for Progress Iowa, one of the leading activist organizations in the state.  It will be me and several other presidential contenders speaking to hundreds of the most passionate leaders in Iowa.  If you’re in the area on December 20th, you can buy tickets for the event here.

But that is not the most exciting news – we are opening up a full-time office in Iowa!  Our new office will be led by Jonathan Herzog; here’s Jonathan in his own words:

Hello, I’m Jonathan. I’m a second-year law student at Harvard Law and the Co-President of Student Government at HLS. I grew up in New York, but spent several formative years living in Alaska, where I first encountered a form of Universal Basic Income. I am taking an indefinite leave from Harvard to serve as Iowa Campaign Coordinator for Andrew Yang. 

Why? Well, put simply, I believe Andrew Yang will be the next President of the United States.

I like to think of Andrew’s campaign as a hypnic jerk for the country. A hypnic jerk is that sudden feeling of falling that we jump awake to sometimes as we’re falling asleep.

I believe in this campaign because I’ve been in the belly of the beast, among the winners at the tip of the spear, and let me tell you: it’s not a pretty sight. I believe in this campaign because I know that winning in a broken system is not winning at all. I believe in this campaign because I see myself in Andrew’s story – a quintessentially American story of resilience, optimism, and entrepreneurial spirit.

The values and vision for America that we are fighting for are very personal to me. The vision of an America where everyone is given an opportunity to thrive. One where we view people as sources of innovation, not costs.

Humanity First,

Jonathan

Having people like Jonathan believe in this campaign inspires me.  I hope it inspires you, too.

Many of you write us asking how you can help.  Here’s what we can use your help with right now:

1. Donate. Your money goes directly to fund Jonathan’s activities in Iowa – we need signs, swag, etc.  In addition to Democratic activists, we are targeting young people who find my message appealing.  Every bit counts – let’s equip Jonathan!
2. Media.  We have a couple big profiles coming, including an interview I did on the Freakonomics podcast last week.  Here are the 3 most influential outlets that we think would be a perfect fit:
   • Joe Rogan (head here to get Andrew’s name added for consideration)
   • Pod Save America (tweet at their production company that you’d like to hear Andrew on the podcast!)
   • WTF with Marc Maron (send an email to letting him know you want Andrew on his show!)
3. The Message. Please do spread the word to your friends and family.  Buy the book. Sign up to volunteer.  Spread the campaign videos and recaps.

Thank you again for your support and belief.  The campaign grows every day as more Americans discover our message.  This CNBC article was shared more than 496,000 times on Facebook alone.  Let’s show what we can do.