A top aide to 2020 presidential candidate Tom Steyer sought to buy endorsements for the billionaire’s White House bid.
Pat Murphy, Steyer’s Iowa director, offered local politicians campaign contributions in exchange for the endorsements, according to the Associated Press.
The was no evidence that any of the candidates accepted the offer or were paid for an endorsement.
Steyer’s campaign press secretary Alberto Lammers said Murphy was not authorized to make the offers and the campaign leadership outside of Iowa was not aware of the matter until approached by the Associated Press.
“Tom has not made any individual contributions to candidates in Iowa this year, and he will not be making any contributions,” a statement from the campaign said. “Our campaign policy is clear that we will not engage in this kind of activity, and anyone who does is not speaking for the campaign or does not know our policy.”
Steyer’s campaign apologized earlier this week after a South Carolina campaign aide, who has since resigned, improperly downloaded campaign data belonging to rival Kamala Harris.
Steyer, 62, has poured more than $47 million of his own money to his presidential campaign since July, prompting criticism that he is trying to buy his way into the White House.
UPDATE: Murphy, a former Iowa House speaker, said the matter was a misunderstanding.
“As a former legislator, I know how tricky the endorsement process can be for folks in Iowa. It was never my intention to make my former colleagues uncomfortable, and I apologize for any miscommunication on my part,” he said in a statement.
