Hello and thank you for your support!

I’m writing this on the way back from Iowa -- this weekend was our best trip yet. On Saturday, I spoke at the Polk County Steak Fry to a group of over 12,000 Iowans. It was an epic experience.

Andrew Yang speaking to a crowd of 12,000 Iowans at the Polk County Steak Fry

I also fried a few steaks, which were delicious if I do say so myself.

Andrew Yang excitedly frying steaks at the Polk County Steak Fry

From there, we opened our first offices in the state, in Des Moines and Davenport. The openings drew amazing crowds in both places -- a tremendous sign. I also spoke at a forum for high school students and several open houses hosted by our campaign. CBS, Fox and NowThisNews covered the events.

Andrew Yang with a group of young people with the Youth Caucus.

Andrew Yang with a group of supporters at the Davenport Office opening

Andrew Yang taking a selfie with a supporter

I have been coming to Iowa since early 2018. Our growth has been staggering. The crowds are bigger and the enthusiasm is higher than ever. Among the things supporters said to me:

“I caucused for Trump. It will be my pleasure to caucus for you.”

“I am telling my neighbors all about you. You can do it.”

“I was a precinct captain for Obama in ’08. When you see it, you know. You’re going to make history.”

A car with a sticker that reads google Andrew Yang

Andrew Yang speaking to a group of college students in Iowa

Even as the crowds get bigger, our team is growing too. We now have 8 full-time staffers in Iowa and are building out quickly. Several of the new hires are experienced hands who left other campaigns (e.g., Jay Inslee, Tim Ryan) to join us. We are growing just as other campaigns are shrinking, and it’s working to our advantage.

There is a lot of noise around a presidential campaign. Press cycles and punditry. Fundraising reports and campaign ads. As an operator, I like to hone in on the key variables for success for an organization and then focus on those.

The key variable here is which candidate a subset of ~200,000 Iowans caucus for on February 3rd. About 10% of voters have decided who they’re supporting. 90% don’t know. Anyone who tells you how it’s going to go doesn't know, because the Iowans themselves don’t know.

We have given ourselves a chance to be the campaign on the rise just as voters are tuning in; we have recently gone from curiosity to contender. We have the right message and the right vision, and we are growing at the exact right time.

This trip convinced me of one thing -- we can compete in Iowa and have thousands of Iowans caucus for us next February. History is opening its door for us. We are going to have to work hard, get the right people on board, and deploy our resources wisely in the state. But if we play our cards right, Iowa will take our vision to the rest of the country and it will spread like wildfire.

Imagine the headlines when Andrew Yang finishes among the top contenders in Iowa next February. Millions of Americans will wake up to the fact that we can win. And then, there will be no stopping us. The American people are a sleeping giant.

People are waking up. Iowa is stirring and it’s glorious.

-Andrew