Tom Steyer Wastes $550 Million and 'Everyone's Time' in Failed Bids for Office
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.
TL;DR
- Tom Steyer spent over $213 million of his own money on his California gubernatorial bid, which appears to be unsuccessful.
- With 83% of votes counted, Steyer is in third place with 22.4% of the vote.
- Combined with a failed presidential bid, Steyer's total self-funded expenses exceed $557 million.
- Steyer's spending has contributed to record levels of candidate self-funding in California, totaling approximately $250 million across all candidates.
- His gubernatorial spending is one of the largest self-funded campaigns in state history, comparable to Meg Whitman's $144 million in 2010.
- Another notable self-funded campaign in California was Saikat Chakrabarti's nearly $9 million bid for Congress, which also did not advance.