(CNN) Andrew Yang, sometime in the next two weeks, is expected to qualify for the sixth Democratic debate next month in Los Angeles. That will represent a clean sweep for Yang, as he will have made the stage in all six of the Democratic presidential debates this year.

That in and of itself would have been quasi-unthinkable in the early months of 2019, when Yang was a total political unknown, given somewhere between none and a snowball's chance in hell of even being relevant in the 2020 primary fight. What's been clear for months now, however, is that Yang -- through his quirky personality and willingness to talk about previously taboo topics like automation and universal basic income -- has built a durable following online and offline that outpaces many of the better-known candidates who have left the race and several who are still in it.

Yang has, in short, cleared that hardest, first hurdle: relevance.

On that, everyone -- mostly -- agrees. But in the wake of Yang's surprisingly strong debate performance last week in Atlanta, it's worth asking a different question: Are we still underrating Yang, his influence on the race and his chances going forward?

The answer to that question, I think, is yes.