Overview
- Steyer announced his campaign by video on Nov. 19, casting himself as an outsider who will make corporations pay their fair share and tackle California’s cost of living.
- His platform includes building one million homes in four years, lowering electric bills by about 25% by curbing utility monopolies, offering free preschool and community college, and banning corporate PAC money in state elections.
- The billionaire climate activist recently spent roughly $12 million backing Proposition 50 on redistricting, a successful ballot measure that boosted speculation about a statewide run.
- He joins a wide field with no clear frontrunner, including Democrats Katie Porter, Xavier Becerra, Antonio Villaraigosa, Betty Yee and Tony Thurmond, and Republicans Chad Bianco and Steve Hilton under California’s jungle primary system.
- Steyer’s campaign says he intends to contribute his own funds, and pre-announcement polling showed him with low name recognition at about 1%.