Andrew Yang’s presidential campaign announced Tuesday that comedian, actor, and Yellow Springs, Ohio, resident Dave Chappelle is endorsing him in the Democratic primary, the latest celebrity to throw his support behind the candidate known for promoting a universal basic income.
“I’m Yang Gang!” Mr. Chappelle, who starred in the sketch comedy series, Chappelle’s Show, said in a news release from the campaign.
The entertainer, who will perform two shows in South Carolina for the Yang campaign at the end of the month, has called the Dayton suburbs home since 2005.
“Dave is one of the most important voices in our country today and I’m thrilled he has thrown his support behind this campaign,” Mr. Yang said in a statement. “He and I share similar concerns about the future and hopes for what it could be. We are also parents who see the world that we are leaving to our kids and believe they deserve better.”
Mr. Yang has received a slew of celebrity endorsements during his improbable rise in the Democratic primary, including actors Ken Jeong, Steven Yeun and Donald Glover. Rivers Cuomo, frontman of the band Weezer, has also endorsed Mr. Yang, and performed during an Iowa rally in November.
After the Aug. 4 mass shooting in Dayton, Mr. Chappelle hosted a benefit concert, “Gem City Shine,” to honor the nine people killed outside a bar in the city’s entertainment district.
When the comedian presumably casts a vote for Mr. Yang in Ohio’s presidential primary, he’ll have to write him in — Mr. Yang was left off the ballot due to a paperwork error. After the mistake was discovered, Mr. Yang announced a write-in campaign for Ohio’s primary.
“As a non-politician, it’s unfathomable that this could happen, but we’re not going to let democracy be thwarted and we are thrilled that we’ve made every other ballot with ease,” Mr. Yang said earlier month regarding the paperwork issue.
Many of his petitions were not submitted with a statement from the candidate stating their intention to run, according to Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose.
Mr. Yang, whose campaign centers in large part on providing every American a $1,000-a-month “Freedom Dividend,” did not qualify for the Democratic debate Tuesday night in Des Moines, Iowa.
First Published January 14, 2020, 8:12 p.m.
