Tom Steyer Concedes California Governor Primary
Tom Steyer ended his campaign for California governor after failing to finish in the top two of the June 2 jungle primary. He spent more than $200 million of his own money on the race.
nypost.comSteyer posted a letter on X stating it was clear he lacked the votes to advance to the November general election. The former hedge fund founder had spent more than $200 million of his personal fortune during the campaign.
Steyer ran on a progressive platform that included calls to abolish ICE, raise taxes on the wealthy, and enact universal healthcare. He received an endorsement from Sen. Bernie Sanders. Opponents spent $55 million against him, the largest amount ever directed at a single candidate in a California primary, according to his concession statement.
Steyer attributed the spending to corporations including Chevron, PG&E and Meta.
California's jungle primary places all candidates on one ballot. The top two vote-getters advance to the general election regardless of party. The system produced a November matchup between former Fox News host Steve Hilton and former Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra.
“By spending $55 million – the most ever against a single candidate in a California primary – they showed the lengths they would go to in order to protect a status quo that only serves them and their profits." — Tom Steyer, concession letter posted on X. Steyer previously ran for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020 and lost. He said the outcome showed that business-as-usual politics depends on politics-as-usual and pledged to continue fighting for changes that do not require candidates to be billionaires.”
