I pride myself on being one of the earliest supporters of the Andrew Yang Campaign. I was a supporter of Yang several months before his big appearance on Joe Rogan’s podcast. When I followed him on twitter at the end of 2018 he had around 30 thousand followers. He now has over 1 million. I proudly wore my MATH hat around town, and I tried to work the Freedom Dividend into any conversation I could. When Yang announced the suspension of his campaign I was devastated by the news. His campaign, his movement, had consumed my life for the last year, and it was crushing to see him go. I was not upset because, I felt like I had wasted my time and energy, but instead because I knew that it meant America was not going to get a president in this election cycle who could unite people from all walks of life, while at the same time offering bold, but rational, progressive policies.

While Andrew Yang has officially “lost” the race for president, I believe that his campaign was ultimately a win. When Yang filed for president in 2017 virtually no one knew who he was. Yes, he has degrees from two Ivy-league universities, Yes he had been the head of a successful company and then later a successful non-profit, and Yes, he was somewhat financially well off, but he did not have any of the status or name-recognition that the rest of Democratic field possessed. Despite this, he managed to consistently out raise and out poll well-known and well-liked politicians and as a result, America is better off for his campaign

Yang did this by bringing together an army (the Yang Gang) that was made up of liberals, conservatives, libertarians, independents, and centrists. In today’s hyper-partisan political culture Yang managed to bring together divided factions. He did so by not running a campaign focusing on cumbersome issues like the impeachment of Trump, but by instead appealing to the issues that concerned the average American. Issues like automation, growing wealth insecurity, and human well being. This approach to politics, along with his fun-loving nature and relatable personality, proved to people that Yang was not your typical presidential candidate. The Yang Gang was small compared to the number of supporters that some of the front runners had, but its members were some of the most enthusiastic and dedicated supporters of this election cycle. It would be uncharacteristic of the Yang Gang to stop supporting the goals of Andrew Yang just because he dropped out. Yang brought together people who had become disengaged from politics. He took these people and he energized them. While Yang’s campaign is over, the Yang Gang has only started. They will continue to support and advocate policies like UBI, Democracy Dollars, and Human-Centered Capitalism. Andrew Yang created a movement that will outlast the 2020 election.

The Yang campaign’s greatest contribution to American politics was sparking a national conversation around Universal Basic Income. Before this election cycle, no major presidential candidate had ever run on a platform that supported UBI, much less made it the cornerstone of their campaign. But Andrew Yang did just that. With every interview, townhall, or debate Yang took part in, he eloquently explained his proposal of a Freedom Dividend, how it works and how Americans benefit. He has played a key role in increasing American’s understanding of what UBI would look like. It is still, by no means, is a policy with wide support, but due to Andrew Yang millions of Americans are now less ignorant when it comes to the issue. In fact, according to a Hill-Harris X poll from September, a growing number of Americans are in favor of a universal basic income, including 66% of Democrats and 49% of Independents.

Average American citizens are not the only ones experiencing a newfound enthusiasm for UBI. Several politicians have recently come out in support of UBI. Presidential candidate Rep. Tulsi Gabbard added a version of universal basic income to her campaign platform and has stated her intent to introduce a UBI bill in congress. California state lawmaker Evan Low, who was the national co-chair for the Andrew Yang campaign, invoked the spirit of Yang and just introduced a bill in the California Assembly that would give every Californian 1,000 dollars a month and would be paid for by a 10% value-added tax. Throughout the country, a group of current political candidates have come together to form “The UBI Caucus.” They currently have 36 members, mostly running for the House of Representatives, and are fighting “to be the discussion focal point for UBI implementation in the United States of America.” Andrew Yang took the idea of universal basic income from being an obscure hysterical fantasy to becoming a legitimate conversation in American politics. It’s an idea that will become more significant and will be discussed more frequently as wealth inequality continues to widen and as automation threatens to uproot the American workforce. Years from now we’ll look back and see that Andrew Yang was far ahead of his time when it came to UBI.

Thankfully I do not believe this is the last we will be seeing of Andrew Yang. He is in a brilliant position to remain part of public discourse. He has taken a job with CNN as a political commentator, for which his performance has received rave reviews. He regularly charms the Twitterverse with thoughtful takes on news, and he has recently said that he is “starting a podcast.” He is using the popularity he gained from his campaign to continue fighting for his ideals and to reach out to everyday Americans. It is also worth noting that Andrew Yang could potentially be a cabinet member or even vice president for the future Democratic nominee. Yang would make an excellent pick for Secretary of Commerce, Labor, or Health and Human Services. Regardless of where Yang ends up post-November, it is unequivocal that he will now be able to influence and advocate policy in a way that he was not able to two years ago.

If he decides to run for office again whether, presidential or smaller, he is not going to suffer from the lack of name recognition that he experienced in this cycle. One of the reasons Bernie Sanders is thriving in this election cycle is because America got to know him four years ago. He, of course, failed to obtain the 2016 Democratic recognition, but in the years since he has remained a popular and dominating force in politics. Unlike in 2016, he was able to enter his 2020 run with both supporters and a reputation that he had been cultivating since his first presidential run. If Yang plays his cards right, and it seems like he is, in the future, he will be able to run for political office and be viewed by voters and the media as a legitimate candidate.

I’m sad that Andrew Yang will not become the president at the end of this election cycle. The race is already missing his voice. I am glad though that he did run. As a country, we benefited from hearing his unifying message and unique his ideas, which will continue to live on through his supporters. Andrew Yang may have “lost” this election, but his candidacy was a win for refined politics, big ideas, and forgotten Americans. Thank you for running Andrew Yang.