Democratic hopeful Andrew Yang has thanked his supporters for making possible a new campaign advert in which he claims to be the first presidential candidate to talk openly about having a special needs child.

Amid a flurry of speculation about the entrepreneur’s potential as a vice presidential running mate, the 44-year-old released a new campaign advert to be shown in several early voting states.

“The first ads are going up in the early states,” he said on Twitter. In a reference to his famously loyal supporters, he added: “Thank you #yanggang for making it possible.”

The most recent poll, released on Tuesday and commissioned by Politico, placed Mr Yang on 3 points, behind Joe Biden on 32, Elizabeth Warren on 20, Bernie Sanders on 20, Pete Buttigieg on 7, and Kamala Harris on 6. Other polls place Ms Warren in first place among the packed Democratic field, yet Mr Yang appears in all of them, invariably ahead of his supposedly better-known rivals, Beto O’Rourke and Cory Booker.

In the advert, Mr Yang and his wife, Evelyn, appear with their two sons, the older of which is autistic.

The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Show all 25 1 /25 The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Bernie Sanders The Vermont senator has launched a second bid for president after losing out to Hilary Clinton in the 2016 Democratic primaries. He is running on a similar platform of democratic socialist reform Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Joe Biden The former vice president recently faced scrutiny for inappropriate touching of women, but was thought to deal with the criticism well and has since maintained a front runner status in national polling EPA The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Elizabeth Warren The Massachusetts senator is a progressive Democrat, and a major supporter of regulating Wall Street Reuters The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Amy Klobuchar Klobuchar is a Minnesota senator who earned praise for her contribution to the Brett Kavanaugh hearings Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Michael Bloomberg Michael Bloomberg, a late addition to the 2020 race, announced his candidacy after months of speculation in November. He has launched a massive ad-buying campaign and issued an apology for the controversial "stop and frisk" programme that adversely impacted minority communities in New York City when he was mayor Getty Images The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 Tulsi Gabbard The Hawaii congresswoman announced her candidacy in January, but has faced tough questions on her past comments on LGBT+ rights and her stance on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Pete Buttigieg The centrist Indiana mayor and war veteran would be the first openly LGBT+ president in American history Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Deval Patrick The former Massachusetts governor launched a late 2020 candidacy and received very little reception. With just a few short months until the first voters flock to the polls, the former governor is running as a centrist and believes he can unite the party's various voting blocs AFP/Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Beto O'Rourke The former Texas congressman formally launched his bid for the presidency in March. He ran on a progressive platform, stating that the US is driven by "gross differences in opportunity and outcome" AP The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Kamala Harris The former California attorney general was introduced to the national stage during Jeff Sessions’ testimony. She has endorsed Medicare-for-all and proposed a major tax-credit for the middle class AFP/Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Bill De Blasio The New York mayor announced his bid on 16 May 2019. He emerged in 2013 as a leading voice in the left wing of his party but struggled to build a national profile and has suffered a number of political setbacks in his time as mayor AFP/Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Steve Bullock The Montana governor announced his bid on 14 May. He stated "We need to defeat Donald Trump in 2020 and defeat the corrupt system that lets campaign money drown out the people's voice, so we can finally make good on the promise of a fair shot for everyone." He also highlighted the fact that he won the governor's seat in a red [Republican] state Reuters The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Cory Booker The New Jersey Senator has focused on restoring kindness and civility in American politics throughout his campaign, though he has failed to secure the same level of support and fundraising as several other senators running for the White House in 2020 Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Wayne Messam Mayor of the city of Miramar in the Miami metropolitan area, Wayne Messam said he intended to run on a progressive platform against the "broken" federal government. He favours gun regulations and was a signatory to a letter from some 400 mayors condemning President Trump's withdrawal from the Paris Climate Accord Vice News The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Kirsten Gillibrand The New York Senator formally announced her presidential bid in January, saying that “healthcare should be a right, not a privilege” Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: John Delaney The Maryland congressman was the first to launch his bid for presidency, making the announcement in 2017 AP The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Andrew Yang The entrepreneur announced his presidential candidacy by pledging that he would introduce a universal basic income of $1,000 a month to every American over the age of 18 Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Julian Castro The former San Antonio mayor announced his candidacy in January and said that his running has a “special meaning” for the Latino community in the US Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Marianne Williamson The author and spiritual adviser has announced her intention to run for president. She had previously run for congress as an independent in 2014 but was unsuccessful Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Eric Swalwell One of the younger candidates, Swalwell has served on multiple committees in the House of Representatives. He intended to make gun control central to his campaign but dropped out after his team said it was clear there was no path to victory Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Seth Moulton A Massachusetts congressman, Moulton is a former US soldier who is best known for trying to stop Nancy Pelosi from becoming speaker of the house. He dropped out of the race after not polling well in key states Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Jay Inslee Inslee has been governor of Washington since 2013. His bid was centred around climate change AFP/Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: John Hickenlooper The former governor of Colorado aimed to sell himself as an effective leader who was open to compromise, but failed to make a splash on the national stage Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Tim Ryan Ohio representative Tim Ryan ran on a campaign that hinged on his working class roots, though his messaging did not appear to resonate with voters Getty The Democrat challengers to Trump in 2020 DROPPED OUT: Tom Steyer Democratic presidential hopeful billionaire and philanthropist Tom Steyer is a longtime Democratic donor AFP/Getty

“I am sure that we’re not the first presidential campaign or family to have special need children,” he says. “But, for whatever reason, I think that we’re the first talk about it openly.”

His wife adds: ‘If you have a child with special needs it’s expensive, and if you do not have access to good healthcare, families literally have nothing.”

Mr Yang, whose online supporters term themselves the Yang Gang, has made headlines in recent days after two polls suggested he may be a very appealing running mate for any Democratic presidential candidate come next summer.

Andrew Yang tears up at 2020 gun presidential forum in Iowa

One poll by Ipsos/FiveThirtyEight suggested Mr Yang could tap into the support of Bernie Sanders’ supporters, should the Vermont senator drop out.

It found 57 per cent of Mr yang’s potential supporters were also considering Mr Sanders, while 16 per cent of Mr Sanders’ potential voters were looking sat Mr Yang. Meanwhile, a second poll published by Business Insider found Mr Yang had the highest net support out of all the 2020 Democratic candidates among undecided general election voters who were considering voting for either party’s nominee.

Last week, Mr Yang, who has placed proving people a universal basic income at the centre of his campaign, said he would be happy to serve as vice president, if he failed to win the nomination.

“Of course. I’m not someone who’s had some crazy, native desire to be president of the United States since I was a kid, because I’m not insane,” he told the Washington Post. “I’m a parent. I’m a patriot. I just want to help solve the problems of this era.”

Even though he has Asian ancestry, Mr Yang has run into controversy over some of his comments on race.

After clips surfaced of comedian Shane Gillis using a racial slur in reference to Mr Yang, the Democrat was crtitised after offering to meet and commiserating about how society had become unforgiving of such remarks.

“My question is ‘what does Andrew yang bring to the ticket’,” Chrtistna Greer, professor of politics science at Fordham University, told The Independent. “He has a racial worldview that is troubling and out of date.”

She added: “And if he does not have the support of black women, he is of no help.”

Larry Sabato, professor of politics at the University of Virginia, also raised a voice of caution.

“You never know until the choice is announced, but it is highly improbable that Yang will be on the ticket,” he said.