<\/p>\n
Candidate for governor Tom Steyer makes remarks during a gubernatorial forum at the MLK Jr. Breakfast in San Francisco in January.<\/p>\n
Benjamin Fanjoy\/For the S.F. Chronicle<\/p>\n
Billionaire Tom Steyer\u2019s attempt to reshape himself into a populist, in part by racking up endorsements from a host of progressives, has been one of the many eyebrow-raising twists in the California gubernatorial race.\u00a0<\/p>\n
With a few days to go before the election, and with Steyer third in most polls<\/a>, his opponents are calling attention to links between those endorsements and Steyer\u2019s contributions to those same groups.<\/p>\n Campaign records show that Steyer did indeed contribute to many progressive organizations that later endorsed him. Is this another example of what Katie Porter alleges is Steyer\u2019s intent to use his $2.4 billion wealth to \u201cbuy\u201d the campaign?<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n It\u2019s hard to make the case that he is buying these endorsements in an explicit quid pro quo because so many of the donations occurred well before his candidacy. But such questions will follow Steyer as long as he packs the biggest wallet in the room.\u00a0<\/p>\n Steyer has spent more than $200 million \u2013 the largest self-funding campaign in California history \u2013 on his run to become one of the top two finishers in Tuesday\u2019s primary, regardless of party affiliation, which would advance him to the general election in November.<\/p>\n San Francisco Chronicle Logo<\/p>\n Make us a Preferred Source to get more of our news when you search.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Add Preferred Source<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n Many journalists and opponents of Steyer\u2019s have laid out how some of the support for his campaign might appear organic, but has actually been purchased. Campaign finance filings showed that between April 19 and May 16, Steyer\u2019s campaign paid at least $122,000 to social media influencers<\/a> and content creator platforms. The campaign also paid $2.6 million to the digital strategy consulting firm Group Project, which has solicited creators to post about Steyer, CalMatters reported<\/a>. Steyer\u2019s opponents have complained that the influencers did not disclose they were paid.<\/p>\n The potential malfeasance in his progressive donations is less clear.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Steyer\u2019s left-leaning endorsers include the California Nurses Association (and Our Revolution<\/a>, the organization inspired by the nurse union\u2019s longtime ally and billionaire-basher Sen. Bernie Sanders); Smart Justice, a criminal justice reform advocacy organization; the Jane Fonda Climate PAC; the League of California Conservation Voters; YIMBY Action; the Service Employees International Union, and Courage California. Those endorsements have helped give Steyer credibility with progressive voters.\u00a0<\/p>\n But Steyer has long been a prolific donor to many Democratic and left-leaning causes \u2013 even to organizations that have endorsed other candidates. He and his wife have given $670,500 to various Planned Parenthood entities across the country over the past several years through Steyer\u2019s NextGen America organization devoted to youth voters. Planned Parenthood affiliates of California endorsed<\/a> front-runner Xavier Becerra in April.\u00a0<\/p>\n Steyer has even previously donated money to his opponents in this race. He and his wife, Kat Taylor, contributed nearly $27,000<\/a> to Porter\u2019s House and Senate campaigns.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n In 2013, Steyer and Taylor, through their TomKat Charitable Trust, gave<\/a> $500,000 to the\u00a0 California League of Conservation Voters Education Fund. The environmental organization, now known as California Environmental Voters, endorsed Steyer this year. It also endorsed<\/a> Porter.\u00a0<\/p>\n The organization\u2019s political director, Matt Abularach-Macias, said there was no connection between Steyer\u2019s donation 13 years ago and its endorsement, and that only one person who was working at the organization when the donation was made is still there today.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The group endorsed Steyer because he\u2019s been leading \u201cfights in California for climate action for years and years, and it’s clear it’s been a passion issue for him for a long time now,\u201d Abularach-Macias said.<\/p>\n Steyer gave $6.6 million to the left-leaning Tides Foundation in 2024. Among its grantees are the California Donor Project, which supports progressive grassroots organizations, and Smart Justice. California Donor Table CEO Ludovic Blain pointed out that \u201cTides Foundation and Tides Advocacy fiscally sponsor hundreds of otherwise completely unrelated projects. None of California Donor Table\u2019s entities have ever received money from Tom Steyer or any of his entities. And we didn\u2019t know about any of his gifts to other Tides-hosted projects, nor would they have influenced our endorsements had we known.\u201d<\/p>\n Smart Justice founder and director Anne Irwin also defended the group\u2019s endorsement.\u00a0 \u201cSmart Justice California endorsed Tom Steyer because we have a stack of receipts demonstrating his consistent, long-term commitment to the issues that we fight for. His record on criminal justice reform is heads and shoulders above any other candidate in the race,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Steyer and Taylor gave Jane Fonda Climate PAC $270,000 in 2024, before he entered the race. The organization called Steyer \u201cthe clear climate champion in this race.\u201d<\/p>\n Sarah Lane, executive director of the PAC, said it \u201cendorsed Tom Steyer solely because he has proven he is ready and willing to stand up to the fossil fuel industry and fight for a livable future.\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n But the donations add fuel to his opponents\u2019 criticisms that Steyer is using his vast personal resources to sway the election.<\/p>\n \u201cTom Steyer is a literal billionaire trying to buy this election with over $213 MILLION of his personal fortune,\u201d Porter said in an email to supporters Wednesday.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cCalifornians deserve a candidate whose support is built on trust not a checkbook,\u201d said Amelia Matier, a spokesperson for the anti-Steyer independent committee called California is Not for Sale, No on Steyer, a Coalition of Housing Advocates, Labor and Small Business, which pointed out the donations. It is funded<\/a> by PG&E, the California Association of Realtors, the California Building Industry Association and the California Correctional Peace Officers Association. It has spent nearly $34 million<\/a> opposing Steyer.\u00a0<\/p>\n Could it be that Steyerhas won progressives over in other ways, perhaps by joining striking teachers in San Francisco and healthcare workers in San Diego on the picket lines and supporting single-payer healthcare, closing tax loopholes for the wealthy and eliminating corporate PACs?<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cProgressives are endorsing Tom because he is on the right side of the issues and because he’s been with them on the frontlines for the last 14 years,\u201d said campaign spokesman Kevin Liao. \u201cHe also happens to be the leading progressive candidate in this race. Over the years, Tom has worked with nearly every progressive organization under the sun. It would be more notable if progressive organizations and leaders were NOT endorsing him.\u201d<\/p>\n Liao has a point. But someone as rich as Steyer should always be monitored. This time, it\u2019s hard to prove his wallet ruled the day.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Candidate for governor Tom Steyer makes remarks during a gubernatorial forum at the MLK Jr. Breakfast in San…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":336866,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[13573,7,80567,9,8,3705,204,13,25299],"class_list":["post-336865","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-california","tag-billionaire","tag-california","tag-california-governor-race","tag-california-headlines","tag-california-news","tag-campaign","tag-election","tag-politics","tag-tom-steyer"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/336865","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=336865"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/336865\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/336866"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=336865"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=336865"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=336865"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}