The US Presidential Election race is heating up, with debate number three scheduled for September 12. There are a lot of candidates still in the running from both parties, but it’s the pro-Bitcoin candidate Andrew Yang that’s got the crypto world talking. Earlier this week, Elon Musk Tweeted that he supports Yang in his race for the Democratic ticket, and what is hopefully a solid shot at the White House.
I support Yang
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 10, 2019
Yang Bringing Bitcoin to the Party
Since he announced his intentions to run for the Democratic ticket, Yang has been quite the underdog. Since he announced his plans to lead the Democratic party, Yang has unveiled a raft of popular welfare plans and his love for cryptocurrencies. Millennials have the lowest turnout out of all voter groups in the US, but Yang is stimulating them via BTC support. If Yang can unlock this demographic with his pro-crypto stance, he could stand a solid chance at winning the election. The odds on him winning the White House have shortened significantly, with several bookmakers now having him at 20/1 – down from 180/1 around six months ago.
Bitcoin-Friendly Super PAC Joins the #YangGang
A candidate’s chances of winning the ticket significantly increases with the support of super PACs (political action committee) and Yang has secured the support of Humanity Forward Fund (HFF). HFF has teamed up with Opennode in a bid to raise a crazy amount of money, exclusively in Bitcoin, to help Yang with advertising and running costs. HFF is far from the biggest super PAC out there, but its support means everything to Yang.
Competition from Gabbard
When it comes to pro-Bitcoin policies, Yang is facing tough competition from Tulsi Gabbard. Gabbard is known to have bought a range of cryptocurrencies at the tip of the crypto boom in 2017, incurring huge losses to date, Gabbard announced her intentions to run back in January and just got an endorsement from Mike Gravel after he pulled out of the race. Gabbard is pushing the pro-crypto policies hard, and if it comes down to drawing the pro-crypto voter’s choice, Gabbard has a few more selling points and could very well snuff out Yang.
Yang is hedging his bets on the pro-bitcoin crowd, but this Tweet of support from Elon Musk is huge for the candidate. However, if things keep on going the way they are, it’s likely that Yang will end up dropping out of the race before the Democratic nomination is made.
