Just ahead of the first Democratic presidential debate, long-shot candidate Andrew Yang is saying he’s in a “fantastic position.”

“It’s nothing but upside,” said the entrepreneur-turned-politician, who has centered his 2020 campaign on promising a guaranteed income of $1,000 a month for every American over age 18.

“No one’s going to want to take shots at the fifth- or sixth-ranked candidate on stage, and I’m just introducing myself to the American people. I feel like I have absolutely nothing to be nervous about. It’s all excitement and potential energy.”

The two-part debate in Miami featured 10 candidates for two hours on Wednesday night and will showcase another 10 for two hours on Thursday night, leaving out five other candidates. Yang is due to appear Thursday, along with Democratic presidential front-runner Joe Biden and several top-tier hopefuls — Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, California Sen. Kamala Harris and Pete Buttigieg, the mayor of South Bend, Ind.

Speaking to reporters Wednesday afternoon outside the debate venue, Yang joked about his actual position on the stage, as well as how he plans to get people’s attention.

“The only thing standing between me and Joe Biden is Pete Buttigieg,” he said, referring to how he came within one spot of appearing right next to the former vice president.

“I’m going to stand out by being focused on the themes of my campaign, which are solving the problems that got Donald Trump elected in the first place — primarily that we automated away 4 million manufacturing jobs in Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Missouri and Ohio, and we’re about to do the same thing to millions of retail jobs, call-center jobs, fast-food jobs, truck-driving jobs, and on and on through the economy,” he also said.

“ ‘GDP has a very low relationship with the lived experience of most Americans.’ ” — Andrew Yang

“I’m talking about those problems and advancing real solutions, like a dividend of a thousand dollars a month for every American adult,” Yang added.

Read more:Why it’s legal, if unusual, for Yang to give out $1,000 a month to one lucky Iowan

And see:The case for paying every American a dividend on the nation’s wealth

The presidential hopeful said his campaign is not in desperation mode, as he’s on track to qualify for the second round of debates by attracting at least 130,000 donors and showing at least 2% support in four national or early primary-state polls. Yang has been showing support of 2% in several national polls, though he’s at 1.3% in the latest RealClearPolitics average of all polls.

“There are some campaigns that are in something of a ‘Hail Mary’ mode, where they’re going to have to throw a touchdown into the end zone to try to make the September debates. We’re not one of those campaigns. We’re going to make the 130,000 threshold probably before tomorrow night,” Yang said.

See:Democratic Party raises bar for second round of debates in fall

In addition, Yang addressed how Democrats can frame the growing economy in a way that wins them the White House.

“Financial insecurity is pervasive in the U.S.,” he said.

“Stock-market price growth DJIA, +0.19% SPX, +0.29% COMP, +0.36% hasn’t really changed those dynamics for many, many American families. I know this because I’ve been around the country traveling. And if you go to most of the country and say, ‘Hey, GDP’s up,’ they look at you like you have a second head. GDP has a very low relationship with the lived experience of most Americans.”

Now read:Democratic presidential hopeful Bennet braces for a crowded debate: ‘You better not blink’

This report was first published on June 26, 2019.