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Longshot: How Political Nobodies Took Andrew Yang National--and the New Playbook That Let Us Build a Movement
In Longshot, Andrew Yang’s campaign manager takes you on a tour through the ups, the downs, and the math of Yang’s 2020 campaign for president, and shares the playbook his team used to navigate the attention economy.
Andrew Yang did not win the 2020 Democratic primary, let alone the presidency of the United States. But chances are you know who Andrew Yang is, and you may well be part of the 75 percent of Americans who now support Universal Basic Income—both facts that would have seemed beyond unlikely at the start of Yang’s campaign. That campaign was helmed by Zach Graumann: entrepreneur, marketing expert, and, at the time, political nonentity. In fact, when Graumann joined Yang 2020, no one on the team was an expert in campaigning, but they all shared a fervent desire to change the future.
Yet, despite that inexperience, by the time Yang dropped out of the race in early 2020, he’d not only outlasted six senators, four governors, and three members of Congress, he’d become one of the most recognizable, popular political figures in the country.
Now, for the first time, Graumann tells the story of how Yang went from nobody to national presence, breathing life into the behind-the-scenes antics of the unusual campaign that started a movement. In the process, he demystifies the world of political campaigns and provides takeaways that will help not only the next generation of campaign managers, but anyone who wants to break into a new industry—or stand out in their current one.
A book for everyone from members of the Yang Gang who want the inside story to businesspeople looking for self-improvement to anyone who has ever had a dream that felt bigger than they were, Longshot reminds you that sometimes, longshots aren’t quite as long as you think.
Andrew Yang did not win the 2020 Democratic primary, let alone the presidency of the United States. But chances are you know who Andrew Yang is, and you may well be part of the 75 percent of Americans who now support Universal Basic Income—both facts that would have seemed beyond unlikely at the start of Yang’s campaign. That campaign was helmed by Zach Graumann: entrepreneur, marketing expert, and, at the time, political nonentity. In fact, when Graumann joined Yang 2020, no one on the team was an expert in campaigning, but they all shared a fervent desire to change the future.
Yet, despite that inexperience, by the time Yang dropped out of the race in early 2020, he’d not only outlasted six senators, four governors, and three members of Congress, he’d become one of the most recognizable, popular political figures in the country.
Now, for the first time, Graumann tells the story of how Yang went from nobody to national presence, breathing life into the behind-the-scenes antics of the unusual campaign that started a movement. In the process, he demystifies the world of political campaigns and provides takeaways that will help not only the next generation of campaign managers, but anyone who wants to break into a new industry—or stand out in their current one.
A book for everyone from members of the Yang Gang who want the inside story to businesspeople looking for self-improvement to anyone who has ever had a dream that felt bigger than they were, Longshot reminds you that sometimes, longshots aren’t quite as long as you think.
- GenresNonfictionPolitics
208 pages, Hardcover
First published May 24, 2022
5 people are currently reading
997 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
August 28, 2022
Obligatory “I used to be Yang Gang but am no longer.”
Zach’s perspective was prescient and detailed, but the book’s disorganization and lack of clear focus really made the experience way worse.
What’s to learn here? That “identity branding” is the new political future, and that Yang’s presidential campaign was among the first to utilize it effectively in the 2020s? Is it a larger treatise on “identity branding” as the future of digital media and advertising more broadly? Is it an examination of Zach as a person and what the campaign taught him? For me, all of these questions remained unanswered, instead it feels like we get half-baked attempts at all three questions.
I will give Zach credit, though: the book was remarkably personal and honest, and definitely embodied the honesty and candor associated with Yang’s campaign. In that way, it was a pleasure. It was very informative, explored just how scrappy the campaign was, and how that affected their prospects as the campaign expanded.
Also, I could write a whole second review on the brevity of Zach’s analysis of Yang’s mayoral campaign, and some of the additional factors that contributed to his loss there. Maybe it was to draw towards his theme of “identity branding” he repeats in the second half of the book, maybe it was the fact that — as Zach himself emphasized — he was a “senior advisor” and not actually running the campaign.
I would recommend this to anyone who was/is “Yang Gang,” but I am less sure whether this book would be worthwhile for anyone else.
Zach’s perspective was prescient and detailed, but the book’s disorganization and lack of clear focus really made the experience way worse.
What’s to learn here? That “identity branding” is the new political future, and that Yang’s presidential campaign was among the first to utilize it effectively in the 2020s? Is it a larger treatise on “identity branding” as the future of digital media and advertising more broadly? Is it an examination of Zach as a person and what the campaign taught him? For me, all of these questions remained unanswered, instead it feels like we get half-baked attempts at all three questions.
I will give Zach credit, though: the book was remarkably personal and honest, and definitely embodied the honesty and candor associated with Yang’s campaign. In that way, it was a pleasure. It was very informative, explored just how scrappy the campaign was, and how that affected their prospects as the campaign expanded.
Also, I could write a whole second review on the brevity of Zach’s analysis of Yang’s mayoral campaign, and some of the additional factors that contributed to his loss there. Maybe it was to draw towards his theme of “identity branding” he repeats in the second half of the book, maybe it was the fact that — as Zach himself emphasized — he was a “senior advisor” and not actually running the campaign.
I would recommend this to anyone who was/is “Yang Gang,” but I am less sure whether this book would be worthwhile for anyone else.
February 12, 2023
The first few chapters are an insightful description of how modern tech and social media have changed the game of politics and branding in general. The rest of the book however is more of a memoir about the campaign trail which, while entertaining at times, takes away from what the first chapters established and feels surprisingly repetitive for a book that's only 170 pages.
June 4, 2022
Graumann absolutely has a fascinating story to tell but unfortunately I found his analysis bad and his authorial voice insufferable.
Quick background on me. Like many reviewing/reading this book I was early #YangGang. I went to many of the early events Graumann references in this book. To give you an idea of how early it was: I remember the first event Andrew Yang said hi to me at the snack bar and he was so casual I didn't even realize he was the candidate I came to see. There were only 20-30 people in attendance and now that I've read this book, it sounds like I would've been one of the few people Yang didn't know already? I remember being reserved about my opinion because I was a working business reporter at the time (in New Jersey) and felt some obligation to remain neutral. Point being, this would've been early 2018 or late 2017 (I left journalism in February 2018). I went to subsequent events but felt very out-of-place so started observing from afar. I went on to work in politics for a city with a population over 100,000. Nothing close to the national scale Graumann experienced, but I think my experience is somewhat relevant for commenting on the strength of Graumann's points. Full disclosure, I did apply to Yang campaign jobs but never heard back.
The main appeal of this book is Graumann's analysis of how Yang went from political nobody to national star and the book starts strong but it doesn't last.
The first two chapters start with an excellent examination of how politics has changed due to the attention economy. Graumann outlines how a strategy of volume (amount of content produced) and relevancy (how relevant the content is to specific demographics) are really the main influences over who gets picked up in coverage these days. He later indirectly elaborates on this by the end of the book when he argues "uncompromising" brand identities take advantage of both of these to create a passionate and engaged following. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Marjorie Taylor-Green say a similar message, repeatedly, all the time, and they are highly successful politicians — by some metrics (both have incredibly high unfavorables but they win elections and get interviews).
The second chapter details all the bad advice the campaign got early on. I found this to be a good dovetail with the first chapter which established the true rules of how the game is now played. Once Graumann establishes what will actually work, the suggestions from legacy politcos seems laughably dumb. It's a good portrayal of how behind the political world is to the modern world — a point Yang often made on the campaign trail ("we need to study this" etc.). Chapter 2 is the end of the worthwhile analysis.
The rest of the book features Graumann making the same point in different ways that I would describe as defeatist or fatalist. Here's an unrelated anecdote on what I mean.
President Theodore Roosevelt chose not to run for re-election in 1908, instead letting his Vice President William Taft run in his place. Taft won that election. After four years of Taft, Roosevelt saw his successor was far less liberal than he envisioned and ran against him in 1912. The party rejected Roosevelt as too liberal and Roosevelt argued the establishment was out of step with the public. To prove it he started his own party which gained support very quickly and announced his intention to run as a third party candidate in the general election. Taft — who wanted to maintain his friendship with Roosevelt — felt it was impossible either of them would win if they both ran. He allegedly pleaded to Roosevelt "What can I do?" Roosevelt made it clear: Drop out. Roosevelt had started a major political party with the public's support and Taft merely had the support of the establishment. Taft was unpersuaded. He allegedly was distraught all the way through to election day. After both of them lost to Woodrow Wilson (Taft 5 points behind Roosevelt), Taft consoled to his wife "I don't know what I could have done! I don't know what I could have done!"
Graumann reminded me of Taft throughout this entire book. He seems to have been captured by the establishment line that only establishment candidates can win while ignoring all counter evidence. Graumann frequently argues throughout the book a line that's summarized as "What got you here, won't get you there." This line is to suggest the whacky political moves that got Yang into the national spotlight also NECESSARILY blocked him from being a viable candidate. He has a table explaining this on page 136. The table suggests any strength as a longshot candidate is a weakness as an actual contender. This table includes ludicrous suggestions such as "Being Funny," "The Yang Gang," or — my favorite — "Grassroots Donors." This is the first time I've seen a political analysis where being likable, having supporters, and earning money is bad. The most telling example is Being Funny where Graumann writes "Great for other contenders with less to prove in terms of experience and ability to handle the presidency, but can make Andrew seem unserious about the job." This is a flatly unfair double-standard from a man that may be overly depressed over how things ended.
The overall takeaway from the book is Graumann has fallen into this fatalist worldview that echoes what Taft repeated all the way to losing an election he could've changed at any minute: there was nothing he could have done. Graumann wraps the point around the concept of brand identity, but ultimately he says brand identities are permanent and immovable therefore the only way you can win a race is if the circumstances ~JUST SO HAPPEN~ to favor your brand identity. This is not only a poor analysis, but it is overtly defeatist. The reason this is so frustrating to read is because Graumann seems to downplay any success the campaign experienced as the first domino for their inevitable failure. Despite being ~about~ how they did so well, Graumann never misses an opportunity to talk down, discard, or openly insult early successes and supporters.
Which speaks to my second major issue with the book: Graumann's authorial voice is simply annoying. He makes a horrible first impression by having an inexplicable fixation on describing what kind of suits he wears (and what kind of suits everyone else wears throughout the book), but it somehow gets worse. Graumann explains why the Yang campaign was important to him and attempts to appear self-aware by saying "this isn't some boo-hoo story about a rich white kid who finally saw poor kids for the first time and had his come-to-Jesus moment." He goes on to explain he grew up in the "non-wealthy part of Connecticut" in a town called West Hartford. For those of you who don't live in Connecticut: The "wealthy part" of Connecticut is South East, near New York City. Hartford is the capital and is located at the center of the state. Hartford is generally a working class city, but it has good and bad areas like any city. Hartford is especially segregated, because all the rich people left the city for a neighboring zip code that they now call WEST HARTFORD. Graumann tries to slieght-of-hand this by saying he doesn't live in the wealthy part of the ~STATE~ but he undeniably grew up in a very wealthy suburban town — even if there are technically other MORE wealthy places somewhere else.
This lack of self-awareness is a constant hindrance to enjoying the book. I don't know why the editors didn't point out how badly he comes across. Or maybe they did? I don't understand why someone would let Graumann publish this description of himself in the first chapter: "My weaknesses are mainly my strengths in excess: if something's too small to matter for my ten-thousand-foot-level brain, I struggle to give it the time or attention to detail it deserves. I can be careless with my words when I'm excited, and my extroversion can take over and make less outgoing people feel sidelined." He sounds like the ever-present idea guy who's greatest strength is his ego. This is the tone of voice for the entire book and it's insane. I started crossing out entire paragraphs because I couldn't take it anymore.
It is unfortunate I have so much to complain about this book because ultimately I think Graumann did play an important role in this historic campaign and his story has merit. I just think he's a remarkably bad messenger for his own story. Much of this book is padded with repetitive or contradictory points and there are a variety of writing cliches that grew tiresome quickly (such as a bizarre sequence of detailing the status of a brownie Yang ate during one of their conversations). I would advise Graumann to partake in some all-encompassing documentary about the campaign but leave the storytelling to someone else. Sorry dude.
By comparison, I found Yang's book Forward to be both more engaging to read and provided far better insight to the major problems the campaign faced. This book has some of that, but it's mostly front loaded in the first handful of chapters.
Quick background on me. Like many reviewing/reading this book I was early #YangGang. I went to many of the early events Graumann references in this book. To give you an idea of how early it was: I remember the first event Andrew Yang said hi to me at the snack bar and he was so casual I didn't even realize he was the candidate I came to see. There were only 20-30 people in attendance and now that I've read this book, it sounds like I would've been one of the few people Yang didn't know already? I remember being reserved about my opinion because I was a working business reporter at the time (in New Jersey) and felt some obligation to remain neutral. Point being, this would've been early 2018 or late 2017 (I left journalism in February 2018). I went to subsequent events but felt very out-of-place so started observing from afar. I went on to work in politics for a city with a population over 100,000. Nothing close to the national scale Graumann experienced, but I think my experience is somewhat relevant for commenting on the strength of Graumann's points. Full disclosure, I did apply to Yang campaign jobs but never heard back.
The main appeal of this book is Graumann's analysis of how Yang went from political nobody to national star and the book starts strong but it doesn't last.
The first two chapters start with an excellent examination of how politics has changed due to the attention economy. Graumann outlines how a strategy of volume (amount of content produced) and relevancy (how relevant the content is to specific demographics) are really the main influences over who gets picked up in coverage these days. He later indirectly elaborates on this by the end of the book when he argues "uncompromising" brand identities take advantage of both of these to create a passionate and engaged following. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Marjorie Taylor-Green say a similar message, repeatedly, all the time, and they are highly successful politicians — by some metrics (both have incredibly high unfavorables but they win elections and get interviews).
The second chapter details all the bad advice the campaign got early on. I found this to be a good dovetail with the first chapter which established the true rules of how the game is now played. Once Graumann establishes what will actually work, the suggestions from legacy politcos seems laughably dumb. It's a good portrayal of how behind the political world is to the modern world — a point Yang often made on the campaign trail ("we need to study this" etc.). Chapter 2 is the end of the worthwhile analysis.
The rest of the book features Graumann making the same point in different ways that I would describe as defeatist or fatalist. Here's an unrelated anecdote on what I mean.
President Theodore Roosevelt chose not to run for re-election in 1908, instead letting his Vice President William Taft run in his place. Taft won that election. After four years of Taft, Roosevelt saw his successor was far less liberal than he envisioned and ran against him in 1912. The party rejected Roosevelt as too liberal and Roosevelt argued the establishment was out of step with the public. To prove it he started his own party which gained support very quickly and announced his intention to run as a third party candidate in the general election. Taft — who wanted to maintain his friendship with Roosevelt — felt it was impossible either of them would win if they both ran. He allegedly pleaded to Roosevelt "What can I do?" Roosevelt made it clear: Drop out. Roosevelt had started a major political party with the public's support and Taft merely had the support of the establishment. Taft was unpersuaded. He allegedly was distraught all the way through to election day. After both of them lost to Woodrow Wilson (Taft 5 points behind Roosevelt), Taft consoled to his wife "I don't know what I could have done! I don't know what I could have done!"
Graumann reminded me of Taft throughout this entire book. He seems to have been captured by the establishment line that only establishment candidates can win while ignoring all counter evidence. Graumann frequently argues throughout the book a line that's summarized as "What got you here, won't get you there." This line is to suggest the whacky political moves that got Yang into the national spotlight also NECESSARILY blocked him from being a viable candidate. He has a table explaining this on page 136. The table suggests any strength as a longshot candidate is a weakness as an actual contender. This table includes ludicrous suggestions such as "Being Funny," "The Yang Gang," or — my favorite — "Grassroots Donors." This is the first time I've seen a political analysis where being likable, having supporters, and earning money is bad. The most telling example is Being Funny where Graumann writes "Great for other contenders with less to prove in terms of experience and ability to handle the presidency, but can make Andrew seem unserious about the job." This is a flatly unfair double-standard from a man that may be overly depressed over how things ended.
The overall takeaway from the book is Graumann has fallen into this fatalist worldview that echoes what Taft repeated all the way to losing an election he could've changed at any minute: there was nothing he could have done. Graumann wraps the point around the concept of brand identity, but ultimately he says brand identities are permanent and immovable therefore the only way you can win a race is if the circumstances ~JUST SO HAPPEN~ to favor your brand identity. This is not only a poor analysis, but it is overtly defeatist. The reason this is so frustrating to read is because Graumann seems to downplay any success the campaign experienced as the first domino for their inevitable failure. Despite being ~about~ how they did so well, Graumann never misses an opportunity to talk down, discard, or openly insult early successes and supporters.
Which speaks to my second major issue with the book: Graumann's authorial voice is simply annoying. He makes a horrible first impression by having an inexplicable fixation on describing what kind of suits he wears (and what kind of suits everyone else wears throughout the book), but it somehow gets worse. Graumann explains why the Yang campaign was important to him and attempts to appear self-aware by saying "this isn't some boo-hoo story about a rich white kid who finally saw poor kids for the first time and had his come-to-Jesus moment." He goes on to explain he grew up in the "non-wealthy part of Connecticut" in a town called West Hartford. For those of you who don't live in Connecticut: The "wealthy part" of Connecticut is South East, near New York City. Hartford is the capital and is located at the center of the state. Hartford is generally a working class city, but it has good and bad areas like any city. Hartford is especially segregated, because all the rich people left the city for a neighboring zip code that they now call WEST HARTFORD. Graumann tries to slieght-of-hand this by saying he doesn't live in the wealthy part of the ~STATE~ but he undeniably grew up in a very wealthy suburban town — even if there are technically other MORE wealthy places somewhere else.
This lack of self-awareness is a constant hindrance to enjoying the book. I don't know why the editors didn't point out how badly he comes across. Or maybe they did? I don't understand why someone would let Graumann publish this description of himself in the first chapter: "My weaknesses are mainly my strengths in excess: if something's too small to matter for my ten-thousand-foot-level brain, I struggle to give it the time or attention to detail it deserves. I can be careless with my words when I'm excited, and my extroversion can take over and make less outgoing people feel sidelined." He sounds like the ever-present idea guy who's greatest strength is his ego. This is the tone of voice for the entire book and it's insane. I started crossing out entire paragraphs because I couldn't take it anymore.
It is unfortunate I have so much to complain about this book because ultimately I think Graumann did play an important role in this historic campaign and his story has merit. I just think he's a remarkably bad messenger for his own story. Much of this book is padded with repetitive or contradictory points and there are a variety of writing cliches that grew tiresome quickly (such as a bizarre sequence of detailing the status of a brownie Yang ate during one of their conversations). I would advise Graumann to partake in some all-encompassing documentary about the campaign but leave the storytelling to someone else. Sorry dude.
By comparison, I found Yang's book Forward to be both more engaging to read and provided far better insight to the major problems the campaign faced. This book has some of that, but it's mostly front loaded in the first handful of chapters.
September 4, 2022
Graumann, although with limited political experience, served as Andrew Yang's campaign manager during his Presidential bid for the 2020 election. He documents the significant events, surprises, challenges which came up during that election (many unexpected, which were a result of the changing demographic of the people, away from the more conventional approaches to campaigning). There was also a complication coming from the media who refused to cover someone with little chance of winning, despite his coming up to 5th in the polls. Although not managing Yang's NYC mayoral bid, he provides a credible explanation why Yang, although performing well initially, finally did not beat Eric Adams for the Democratic nomination. Although events here take place before formation of the Forward Party, the pieces are in place. This is a good supplement to read along side Andrew Yang's book "Forward."
June 5, 2022
Long-time Yang Gang fan, so I was excited to read this. To my disappointment, it felt like this book wasn’t sure what it wanted to be - part case study, part memoir, part retrospective. Not a “playbook” as subtitled. As a result, its insights are relatively shallow. I would have liked to see more examples and concrete data proving out the impact of the pivotal decisions the Yang campaign made along its journey. Additionally, I found the author to be mostly likeable but sometimes quite whiny.
June 20, 2022
Great insider perspective on the impact of the Yang campaign
This was a great read and I would highly recommend it to anyone, especially Yang Gang.
As a volunteer who wishes he got involved sooner, Zach's thoughtful perspectives on the strengths, weaknesses, and impacts of the Yang campaign helped me process and accept the too-brief but amazing adventure that was the Yang 2020 campaign.
I'm proud to have been a part of this hard-fought movement, proud of what the campaign accomplished, and excited to continue fighting the good fight.
Love y'all, Yang Gang.
This was a great read and I would highly recommend it to anyone, especially Yang Gang.
As a volunteer who wishes he got involved sooner, Zach's thoughtful perspectives on the strengths, weaknesses, and impacts of the Yang campaign helped me process and accept the too-brief but amazing adventure that was the Yang 2020 campaign.
I'm proud to have been a part of this hard-fought movement, proud of what the campaign accomplished, and excited to continue fighting the good fight.
Love y'all, Yang Gang.
May 14, 2022
Longshot is a well-written, interesting read about a political newcomer who became a household name, thanks to the 2020 Democratic Primary. This book takes you behind the scenes of Andrew Yang's campaign. It is an inspiring book of achieving success, even if it isn't the outcome you set out for. Highly recommend.
October 30, 2022
Zach provides both a synopsis of the 2020 presidential run of Andrew Yang and a guidebook for how identity branding will continue to shape US electoral politics. I found the book engaging, informative, and fun to read. What a wild ride the Yang campaign went through in 2020 and there’s more to come for sure.
April 10, 2022
2022 04 09 - Just received my ARC. Thank you BenBella Books and Goodreads Giveaways.
Looking forward to diving in. Always give 5 stars when I add a new book to my collection on first impressions and update rating when I finish reading it.
Looking forward to diving in. Always give 5 stars when I add a new book to my collection on first impressions and update rating when I finish reading it.
May 31, 2022
Written mostly for nostalgic #YangGang, not those seeking serious political insight on Zach’s work during the 2020 Presidential Campaign as the title may lead you to believe.
In this sense, the book excels.
In this sense, the book excels.
May 3, 2022
Great book for those who enjoy reading about political campaigns or those interested in politics.
May 27, 2022
This was fun, and particularly if you're #YangGang. It's an interesting walk down memory lane for followers of the campaign, and an insightful look at a new model for running for office in an overwhelmed attention economy.
August 9, 2022
I'll probably review this book at greater length elsewhere. For now, I'll simply say that I immensely enjoyed it.
December 7, 2022
Very entertaining and informative
Loved the story and getting a look behind the scenes. Great book for learning about the outsider approach to running.
Loved the story and getting a look behind the scenes. Great book for learning about the outsider approach to running.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews