At first, the campaign was so focused on Mr. Yang’s basic income pitch that its website URL was “UBI2020.com,” not “Yang2020.com.” Policy pages were written off Mr. Yang’s campaign book, “The War on Normal People.” Top aides took pictures at angles that would make rooms look fuller than they were. They did not know to print signs with Mr. Yang’s name on both sides, so it would be visible from the front and back.
They set up their ActBlue account so that a cha-ching! sound would ring through the office every time someone made a donation. They celebrated every time.
There wasn’t that much to celebrate in the early days. In late 2018, Mr. Yang recalled, the campaign had “maybe $20,000 in the bank,” and held a New Year’s party as a fund-raiser that ended up being a “fund-loser.” The party was so bad, he added, one person who showed up demanded a refund.
All of which made the day of the Rogan podcast a significant turning point. On that day alone, the campaign raised “a couple of hundred thousand dollars,” Carly Reilly, the campaign’s national finance director said. (Ms. Reilly noted that she did not assume the title of “finance director” until July, when the campaign finally had enough finances to warrant a director.)
Mr. Yang qualified for the first debate in June, then the second. His team raised millions more, hired two dozen more people, expanded to another floor of their Midtown headquarters, opened 16 field offices and then hired even more staff members.
The team now has over 100 people — a much larger proportion of which have some background in politics. New hires have come from the now defunct presidential campaigns of Gov. Jay Inslee of Washington, Representative Tim Ryan of Ohio and former Representative Beto O’Rourke of Texas.
But Mr. Yang’s leadership team is still somewhat devoid of conventional political experience. Zach Graumann, Mr. Yang’s campaign manager, came from finance and the nonprofit world; Nick Ryan, the campaign chief, spent time in the military; Ms. Reilly had a background in finance and media.