Billionaire climate activist Tom Steyer’s bid for governor of California is the second time he has spent more than nine figures in an unsuccessful attempt to win public office.
NBC News projected Tuesday that former conservative commentator Steve Hilton advanced to the general election for governor, joining former Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra. That means Steyer is out, unable to push into the top two spots in the all-party primary.
Steyer spent more than $215 million of his own money on his campaign, according to the latest campaign finance reports published by the state. That money has helped Steyer flood the airwaves with a staggering $209 million in ad spending, according to the ad-tracking firm AdImpact.
To put that spending in context, that’s about two-thirds of all ad spending in the entire governor’s race, including dozens of candidates and outside groups. Becerra, the candidate who has spent the second most on ads, spent $11.7 million, according to AdImpact.
Six years ago, Steyer used a similar strategy in his bid for president, giving his campaign more than $300 million — $318 million in contributions and another $24 million in loans, according to federal campaign finance disclosures.
Even though he dropped out in late February after the four early contests, in which he failed to gain traction, Steyer’s campaign spent more money than every other candidate except three: the two eventual nominees — Joe Biden and Donald Trump — and another self-funding billionaire, Michael Bloomberg. Bloomberg, the former mayor of New York, entered the contest late and spent more than $1 billion in his own ill-fated attempt to win the Democratic presidential nomination.
Steyer has also spent significantly on other political causes over the years. Most recently, he spent $14 million on television ads supporting the successful ballot measure that allowed California Democrats to redraw the state’s congressional districts.
Before that, he spent more than $27 million on his group Need to Impeach, which advocated for Trump’s impeachment during his first term. And he seeded another group he founded, NextGen Climate Action Committee, with $277 million from 2013 to 2020.
