By Evaristo Lara
Regardless of the outcome of the race to elect California’s new governor before the end of the year, Tom Steiner’s campaign will go down in history as one of the most expensive campaigns carried out by a candidate for the state Democratic nomination.
The 68-year-old New Yorker has spent nearly $200 million buying the necessary advertising to try to outdo Xavier Becerra, former state attorney general and former health secretary in the Biden administration, who lacks sufficient funds to compete in the same way.
According to data collected by AdImpact, an advertising tracking company, Tom Steiner has spent or contracted more than $195 million dollars on promotional campaigns broadcast on open television, cable and radio.
This amount of money is equivalent to more than 20 times what was spent by Becerra, his closest rival in terms of dollars invested in candidate campaigns in California.
In fact, political opponents of the former hedge fund manager turned liberal activist accuse him of using part of his fortune to try to buy the governor’s office in the “Golden State.”
The point is that, at the national level, no one comes close to spending to realize Steiner’s desire to become state president.
Through a message spread on social networks, the campaign team of Katie Porter, a former member of the House of Representatives and who also appears as a candidate for the Democratic candidacy, criticized the philanthropist for resorting to his private fortune with the aim of positioning himself before Californians as the best option for a gubernatorial candidate they could have.
“She is not spending hundreds of millions of dollars of her personal fortune trying to buy the governorship,” the letter states.
It should be noted that the race to be the next governor of California has aroused enormous interest and, in addition to the three candidates already mentioned, Antonio Villaraigosa, former mayor of Los Angeles, appears; and Tony Thurmond, state superintendent of Public Education.
At this time, the campaigns entered their final stretch towards the June 2 primaries.
Keep reading:
• Tom Steyer is denounced for covert advertising with influencers and violations of electoral transparency
• Tom Steyer, in the crosshairs for payments to influencers during the election campaign
• Candidate for governor of California, Tom Steyer, integrates Julie Chávez, granddaughter of César Chávez, into his team
