Commentary: Andrew Yang’s failed New York mayoral bid is a good thing for politics So far, there’s little evidence that hopeless presidential campaigns can advance one’s career. By Jonathan BernsteinBloomberg Opinion Share Andrew Yang was a test case. His effort to use a presidential bid to jump-start his political career seemed likely, if it was perceived as successful, to inspire others to follow in his footsteps. The bloated candidate fields we’ve had recently – especially in the Republican presidential nomination contest in 2016 and the Democratic campaign in 2020 – were not ideal, for a variety of reasons. And if Yang had been successful in his bid for the Democratic nomination for mayor of New York City, the problem would’ve likely gotten worse. Instead? He finished a distant fourth. And at least so far, there’s not much evidence that hopeless presidential campaigns do much good at all.