Oct. 4 (UPI) -- Former Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang announced Monday he is leaving the party to become a registered independent.
Yang, who also unsuccessfully ran for mayor of New York City this year, said his decision to leave the Democratic Party is based on a belief that he can accomplish more as an independent than as part of a "polarized" two-party system.
Calling at a "strangely emotional experience" for a lifelong Democrat, Yang, 46, revealed in a blog post on his website he is "breaking up" with the party.
"My goal is to do as much as I can to advance our society. There are phenomenal public servants doing great work every day -- but our system is stuck," he wrote.
Related
"It is stuck in part because polarization is getting worse than ever. Many of the people I know are doing all of the good they can -- but their impact is constrained. Now that I'm not a member of one party or another, I feel like I can be even more honest about both the system and the people in it."
During his campaign for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, Yang centered his policies around a $1,000 universal basic income for every American that he dubbed a "Freedom Dividend."
He finished sixth in the Iowa caucuses, receiving 1% of the state delegate equivalents. He later garnered about 15% of the vote in the New Hampshire Democratic primary before suspending his campaign.
Yang also ran for New York City mayor this year to replace Mayor Bill De Blasio, who was barred from running for a third term. In an adaptation of his universal basic income platform, he proposed a plan to provide $2,000 per year for about 500,000 low-income city residents.
In his statement Monday, the former businessman said he first registered as a Democrat in 1995 when he was 20 years old and officially changing his status to "independent" doesn't reflect disenchantment with the party, but rather is a reflection on the deadlocked state of U.S. politics.
"Breaking up with the Democratic Party feels like the right thing to do because I believe I can have a greater impact this way," he wrote.
