Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang Andrew YangBiden's latest small business outreach is just ... awful Doctor who allegedly assaulted Evelyn Yang arrested on federal charges The Hill's Campaign Report: Biden weighs in on police shootings | Who's moderating the debates | Trump trails in post-convention polls MORE's campaign said Monday that it has received more than 450,000 entries for a contest to promote his "Freedom Dividend" proposal.

The entrepreneur during last Thursday's debate announced plans to give a total of $120,000 from his campaign donations to 10 families — sparking audible laughter from some of the other nine candidates on stage.

The contest mimics Yang's Freedom Dividend proposal, which is a cornerstone of his campaign.

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The 10 winning families will receive $1,000 a month, similar to how all Americans would receive the monthly stipend under Yang's proposal.

Yang defended his contest Sunday on CNN's "State of the Union," saying his campaign is sure it's "perfectly legal."

He has advocated for his Freedom Dividend proposal, saying it will help Americans as a threat of automation grows across different industries.

Yang says the stipend would allow Americans to cover basic needs while looking for better jobs, starting a business or going back to school.

Yang has also received more than $1 million in donations since the debate, the campaign said Monday.

Yang, a newcomer to politics, has risen above about half the contenders in the winnowing Democratic field. A RealClearPolitics average of polling has Yang at 3 percent, trailing front-runner Joe Biden Joe BidenFormer Pence aide: White House staffers discussed Trump refusing to leave office Progressive group buys domain name of Trump's No. 1 Supreme Court pick Bloomberg rolls out M ad buy to boost Biden in Florida MORE, a former vice president, by more than 23 points.