Andrew Yang has a simple idea for how the DNC can increase diversity at the next debate


Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang has a suggestion for the Democratic National Committee.
There's been a lot of wariness as the field whittles down about the lack of diversity among the party's top presidential candidates. So far, the five candidates to have qualified for January's debate in Iowa — Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), former Vice President Joe Biden, and South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg — are all white. And Yang, who has yet to qualify for the January event, was the only minority candidate at the last debate in December.
In a letter sent to DNC Chair Tom Perez obtained by The Daily Beast, Yang provided a pretty simple idea for how to increase diversity at the January debate. He just thinks the DNC should commission more qualifying polls.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Of course, that would go a long way toward helping Yang, who has met the individual donor requirement, but is three qualifying polls short of reaching the threshold. Still, in the letter he tried to appeal to the party at large, saying that the an all-white debate stage was a "troubling prospect" for the DNC, and could even lead to "unfounded claims of bias and prejudice." More polls, he told Perez, "would provide an accurate snapshot of the current state of the race and where voters' hearts and minds are." Read more at The Daily Beast.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.
-
Trump crypto token launch earns family billions
Speed Read The World Liberty Financial token is now the Trump family's 'most valuable asset'
-
RFK Jr. names new CDC head as staff revolt
Speed Read Kennedy installed his deputy, Jim O'Neill, as acting CDC director
-
DC prosecutors lose bid to indict sandwich thrower
Speed Read Prosecutors sought to charge Sean Dunn with assaulting a federal officer
-
White House fires new CDC head amid agency exodus
Speed Read CDC Director Susan Monarez was ousted after butting heads with HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over vaccines
-
DOGE put Social Security data at risk, official says
Speed Read DOGE workers made the personal information of hundreds of millions of Americans vulnerable to identity theft
-
Court rejects Trump suit against Maryland US judges
Speed Read Judge Thomas Cullen, a Trump appointee, said the executive branch had no authority to sue the judges
-
Trump expands National Guard role in policing
Speed Read The president wants the Guard to take on a larger role in domestic law enforcement
-
Trump says he's firing Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook
Speed Read The move is likely part of Trump's push to get the central bank to cut interest rates