Overview
- More than 200 candidates have put roughly a quarter‑billion dollars of their own money into 2026 campaigns, with Tom Steyer leading at about $213–216 million.
- Early June primary returns showed several high‑spending Democrats underperforming despite heavy advertising, signaling that big personal checks do not guarantee victory.
- Republican self‑funders have had better isolated success, with high personal spending helping some GOP newcomers advance in state contests.
- Regulators and journalists have raised disclosure and influencer‑post questions in California, and public polling shows rising skepticism about concentrated wealth shaping politics.
- Experts link the surge in self‑funding to rising campaign costs and the post‑2010 spread of outside political spending, a change that could push candidates to keep using personal wealth or prompt new rules on campaign finance.