Tom Steyer, the billionaire Democratic activist and former presidential candidate, turned the newest contender Wednesday in the race to succeed California Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Steyer launched his marketing campaign round the theme of affordability, echoing messaging that helped Democratic candidates win key races earlier this month, and taking up companies.
“Californians deserve a life they can afford,” Steyer stated in an announcement. “But the Californians who make this state run are being run over by the cost of living. We need to get back to basics.”
The former hedge fund supervisor stirred hypothesis that he was contemplating a run final month when he committed $12 million to the campaign to spice up Proposition 50, a poll initiative handed this month that can enable California Democrats to redraw the state’s congressional map of their social gathering’s favor.
Steyer is becoming a member of a crowded discipline with no clear front-runner after former Vice President Kamala Harris and US Sen. Alex Padilla each handed on working. Among the candidates is Xavier Becerra, the former well being and human providers secretary, and Katie Porter, the former congresswoman who faced criticism after movies of her bristling underneath follow-up questions in an interview and yelling at a staffer went viral.
Other candidates embrace former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Republican commentator Steve Hilton and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco. Newsom is term-limited and thought of a contender for the Democrats’ 2028 presidential nomination.
Steyer is a longtime fixture in Democratic politics who has spent hundreds of thousands backing liberal poll initiatives and Democratic candidates. In 2013, he based NextGen America, a gaggle aimed about boosting voter turnout amongst younger folks. During President Donald Trump’s first time period in workplace, Steyer spent $20 million on an ad campaign calling for Trump’s impeachment.
Despite his prominence as a megadonor, Steyer has been much less profitable as a candidate.
After passing on Senate and governor campaigns in 2018, Steyer joined the crowded 2020 Democratic presidential main discipline and gave $318 million to his marketing campaign earlier than dropping out after a disappointing finish in the South Carolina main.