Businessman-turned-activist Tom Steyer is a favorite villain of his Democratic presidential rivals and D.C. beltway operatives, painted as a directionless, egotistical billionaire trying to buy his way to the presidency.
But Steyer’s supporters reject the notion that they have been bought. They say they are real and that they see the San Francisco-based former hedge fund manager as a compassionate American success story and a refreshing change from conventional politicians.
“They can make all the promises in the world, but he’s put his money where his mouth is,” said Edward Good, a retired Reno, Nevada, resident. He attended the Nevada Democratic Party’s “First in the West” forum in Las Vegas last weekend as part of Steyer’s block of sponsorship tickets. “Everybody else is on the phone raising money. He’s on the phone distributing money to try to make America better.”
Good, who also praised Steyer’s support for congressional term limits, said that he first heard about him through TV ads pushing for President Trump’s impeachment and hosted a debate watch party at his house to support him.
A large chunk of Steyer’s support does appear to come from heavy spending on targeted ads. He gave nearly $47.6 million to his own campaign from his July launch through the end of September and has spent more than $12 million on Facebook ads and an estimated $32 million on TV ads this year, more than any other Democratic candidate.
“All of Tom’s ads out there are not only businesslike, but they are professional and personal. He is a billionaire that knows how to save and spend money when it’s needed and not,” said Nate Iverson, a 24-year-old working to become a firefighter and EMT in Greenfield, New Hampshire, who posts support for Steyer on social media. After hearing about him through Facebook ads, Iverson said he looked into other candidates and decided he liked Steyer best.
Current House impeachment proceedings against Trump make Steyer seem ahead of the curve. He founded activist group Need to Impeach in 2017 and now touts his early support for impeachment in campaign speeches. Iverson said that “caught my attention, because I was waiting for that.”
The fact that Steyer isn’t reliant on campaign donations attracts other supporters.
“I don’t believe he can be bought or coerced into policies not in the interest of working people,” said Patrick Warren, a Malvern, Pennsylvania, skilled laborer in his mid-50s who also heard about Steyer on Facebook and joined a group that supports him. “The powers that be do not give him air time under the guise of him trying to buy a presidency when, in fact, they fear his proposed policies.”
Perhaps because of the ads, he is set to outlast New Jersey Sen. Cory Booker and former Housing Secretary Julian Castro, both with higher name recognition than Steyer, on the primary debate stage. He reached the threshold of four required 4% or higher polls for the December round while both Booker and Castro have zero.
Steyer’s campaign resources may have also afforded his campaign the luxury of getting to know voters on a more personal level.
Artist Lisa Everingham of Las Vegas, 49, said that she tried to meet with campaigns for Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders. “They were just too busy to hear me,” she said, explaining that the campaigns pushed her to volunteer, but she was unable to due to being disabled from car accidents.
Steyer’s campaign team, she said, was much warmer. She and another artist friend met Steyer and presented him with a portrait of him. “Tom was just dumbfounded. And he was just really appreciative,” Everingham said. “I told him my story and I’m about to go in the hospital, and he said, ‘Well, maybe I can come and visit you.’”
Recent scandals surrounding Steyer campaign operations resulted in new attacks and allegations of an unfair campaign. Earlier this month, his South Carolina deputy state director resigned after improperly obtaining data belonging to California Sen. Kamala Harris’ campaign. Steyer’s Iowa state director resigned after allegations that he offered local politicians campaign contributions in exchange for endorsements.
Eva Blaisdell, 67, an entrepreneur and philanthropist in Los Angeles who first met Steyer at an event at Stanford University a few years ago described him as a “political entrepreneur.”
“I have little patience for politicians who are trying to razzle-dazzle with repacking from past elections,” said Blaisdell, who said she is apolitical but likes Steyer. “I looked into his eyes and I saw a good man.”
Steyer’s campaign recognizes his outsider appeal. “Voters respect Tom’s experience of building an international business from scratch,” a campaign representative said. “As an outsider, Tom knows our system isn’t working for real people.”
Outside his niche, questions about organic grassroots support for Steyer remain. All of Steyer’s debate-qualifying polls surveyed likely voters in early nominating contest states, but most national polls find Steyer at about 1% support. For every positive social media post about Steyer, there are many times more negative posts. With top-tier candidates such as Warren and Sanders receiving cheers when they rail against Wall Street billionaires, there is no end in sight to the uphill climb for his presidential aspirations.
