Progressive Democrats will rant and rave about how billionaires are buying elections. The fact that voters keep rejecting Tom Steyer should put an end to that belief, as well as Steyer’s belief that anyone wants to see him run anything.On Tuesday, Steyer conceded that he would not be advancing to the top two runoff in the California governor’s race. Steyer did his best to buy his way into the hearts of voters, flooding the airwaves with ads promoting himself and attacking rival Democrats such as former Rep. Eric Swalwell and former state Attorney General Xavier Becerra. Steyer spent $213 million of his own money on his campaign, and the best he got was consistently polling in the top three or four of the field, only to fall short of Becerra and Republican Steve Hilton. With around 91% of the vote counted, Steyer sits at just 22.5%.
This is the second big failure for Steyer’s political career. You may recall that he was one of the million Democrats who ran in the crowded 2020 field, where he spent more than $300 million of his own money to finish tied for last place with zero delegates. His best finish was a distant third in the South Carolina primary, where he won just 11% of the vote. In terms of overall votes received, Steyer finished eighth, behind even Tulsi Gabbard.
