Andrew Yang telling New York City leaders he intends to run for mayor: NYT

Former 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang is telling New York City leaders that he intends to run for mayor in the city, according to a report in The New York Times.

The entrepreneur is reportedly expected to announce his bid next week, according to the newspaper. He would be the second Asian American candidate to run for mayor of the U.S.’s largest city.

Yang has met with New York City Council Speaker Corey Johnson (D), the Times reports, and a spokesperson for the Rev. Al Sharpton told the newspaper that Yang plans to meet with him next week.

He’s also listed Bradley Tusks and Chris Coffey, who worked for former Mayor Michael Bloomberg, as advisers. Bloomberg was also a 2020 Democratic hopeful.

Yang was born in upstate New York and has spent most of his adult life in Manhattan, according to the newspaper.

The entrepreneur was one of the more progressive candidates in the sea of Democrats looking to unseat President Trump, with a proposal for universal basic income being a centerpiece of his presidential bid.

The former presidential candidate has publicly hinted at running for mayor, but now appears to be considering it more seriously.

However, Yang has never ran for office in New York City and will have to learn the issues important to voters, the Times notes. He’ll also have to stand out in a sea of candidates vying to replace Mayor Bill de Blasio.

The entrepreneur moved to Georgia last month to help Democratic candidates the Rev. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff in the state’s crucial Senate runoff races that will determine which party controls the upper chamber.

Yang declined to tell the Times if he was going to run for mayor, saying “I’m thrilled that people seem excited about my doing what I can to help, but no, right now I’m focused on these Senate races in Georgia.”