Billionaire Tom Steyer, who had been polling near the top of the leaderboard for California governor, sank more than $213 million of his own money into what now increasingly looks like a futile bid. While the Associated Press has not officially called the primary contest, a week after polls closed, the vote count as of Tuesday afternoon had Steyer in third.With 83% of the vote counted, Xavier Becerra, a Democrat, has already advanced to the general election with 27.7%. Republican Steve Hilton has 25.1%, while Steyer, a Democrat, has 22.4% (215,734 votes), placing second and third, respectively. California uses a jungle primary, meaning all candidates, regardless of party, compete in one race in June. The top two winners go on to the November runoff.
Combined with a failed bid for president in 2020, in which he received zero delegates, Steyer’s out-of-pocket expenses now total an eye-watering $557,781,638.
“I think it’s time for Tom Steyer to stop wasting his money and everyone’s time running for elected office,” Jeff Burton, a former senior National Republican Congressional Committee official and partner at Maven Advocacy, told the Washington Examiner.
Steyer’s decision to pour $213 million into his gubernatorial bid helped drive candidate self-funding in California to unprecedented levels this election cycle.
