NEW YORK _ Michael Bloomberg's campaign has reportedly reached out to Andrew Yang in hopes of winning the failed presidential candidate's endorsement _ and has even "floated the possibility" of naming Yang as his running mate.
The billionaire ex-mayor's aides made the overtures to Yang, an upstart who rose from near-total anonymity to make a significant impact in the Democratic primary race before dropping out after New Hampshire primary, The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.
The attention-grabbing claim raises as many questions as it answers.
Yang, an entrepreneur, attracted a younger group of dedicated supporters who branded themselves the #YangGang.
He might add some buzz to the Bloomberg effort, which has lacked grassroots enthusiasm or energy. But he only won about 5% of the vote in the Iowa caucuses before falling even lower in New Hampshire.
Most political analysts believe Bloomberg's main priority if he winds up winning the nomination would be to shore up his support among the black and Latino voters who make up the base of the Democratic Party.
After years as a Republican mayor and fending off controversies over his racially charged stop-and-frisk policy, Bloomberg would probably look to a well-known woman of color to help him take on President Donald Trump.
