Billionaire investor Tom Steyer (credit: Tom Steyer Facebook)
Leading Off
CA-Gov
Billionaire investor Tom Steyer is now the subject of “chatter” that he could launch a late campaign for governor of California, Jeremy White writes in Politico.
Steyer, a prominent environmentalist who spent $250 million of his own money on a failed bid for the Democratic nomination for president in 2020, attracted renewed attention Thursday when he announced he was donating $12 million to support the effort to pass a new congressional map.
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Steyer, who has considered running for office in California several times in the past, had previously shown no obvious interest in entering next year’s packed race to replace termed-out Gov. Gavin Newsom. Former Democrat Rep. Katie Porter has emerged as the frontrunner in the June top-two primary, but her week of rough headlines could create an opening for other Democrats—including some who aren’t currently running.
Steyer’s team did not directly answer White’s questions about whether his contribution to the redistricting effort signals anything about his interest in running himself. His spokesperson instead said that Steyer was “strongly backing Prop 50 now because he knows it’s our best shot at stopping Trump’s power grab in Congress.”
A former Steyer adviser, though, speculated that he is indeed thinking about seeking the governorship.
“I know it brings up the question of whether he’s going to run,” Gil Duran told White. “There’s been some buzz about that. The race is wide open. I’m sure the thought has crossed his mind.”
But while Steyer’s fortune would give him the chance to immediately get his message out in a gigantic state where even well-connected candidates can have difficulty raising enough money to wage a serious effort, other well-heeled Californians have struggled to win over voters in the past.
Back in 1998, when the Golden State still held partisan primaries, former Northwest Airlines co-chair Al Checchi broke state records by dropping $40 million of his own money (almost $80 million in 2025 dollars) to try to win the Democratic primary for governor. All he had to show for it, though, was a 57-20 landslide loss against Lt. Gov. Gray Davis, who went on to become California’s first Democratic governor in 16 years.
Republican Meg Whitman, the former CEO of eBay, hoped for a different outcome in 2010 when she gave her campaign an extraordinary $144 million ($214 million today), which at the time made her the biggest self-funder in American electoral history. (She would be surpassed a decade later by former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who competed with Steyer in the 2020 presidential primary they both lost.)
Whitman’s ubiquity made her a household name long before Election Day, though not all of her would-be constituents enjoyed seeing her dominate their TV screens—even potential supporters. One registered Republican griped to the Mercury News in March of that year, “Do they think I’m an idiot or something? I get the message.”
Whitman, unlike Checchi, won her primary, but it wasn’t enough to get her into the governor’s office. Former Gov. Jerry Brown, a Democrat who didn’t have anywhere close to Whitman’s resources, nevertheless regained his old office by beating her 54-41.
Despite that history, though, another billionaire is already trying his luck. Stephen Cloobeck, who founded the timeshare giant Diamond Resorts International, is campaigning as a Democrat, though he’s struggled to gain traction in the polls.
Developer Rick Caruso—who is also a billionaire—is continuing to mull a bid as well, though he’s also considering a rematch against Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass.
The only other major name who has shown interest in entering the race to replace Newsom is Sen. Alex Padilla, who has indicated he won’t decide until after the Nov. 4 special election regarding the new congressional map. While Padilla, unlike Steyer and Caruso, lacks the vast fortune to jumpstart a campaign, his prominence and connections would nonetheless give him the chance to make an impact.
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Moreno, the president of the City Council, defeated her nearest opponent, Democratic state Sen. Royce Duplessis, by a 55-22 margin. Another Democratic councilor, Oliver Thomas, finished in third with 19%. Because Moreno secured an outright majority, the race will not head to a runoff, which would have taken place on Nov. 15.
When she’s sworn in, Moreno will take over as leader of Louisiana’s largest city from Democratic incumbent LaToya Cantrell, who was ineligible to run again after serving two terms in office. Moreno, who was born in Mexico before ultimately becoming a local news anchor in New Orleans, will be the first person of Hispanic descent to serve as mayor.
3Q Fundraising
NJ-09: Nellie Pou (D-inc): $490,000 raised, $1.1 million cash on hand
NY-12: Liam Elkind (D): $550,000 raised (in two months)
TX-21: Mark Teixeira (R): $200,000 raised (in one month), additional $500,000 self-funded, $700,000 cash on hand
Redistricting Roundup
FL Redistricting
Are Florida Republicans slowing their roll on redistricting? One key leader who hasn’t been heard from much on the topic just offered a decidedly unenthusiastic take on his interest in pursuing a further gerrymander.
“We’re just observing at this point,” state Senate President Ben Albritton told Politico. “So we’ll see how it comes out.”
It’s not entirely clear what “it” refers to, though it’s possible Albritton is waiting to see what more gung-ho Republicans decide to do. They include Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has called for a redraw (and actually drafted Florida’s current map), as well as state House Speaker Daniel Perez, who recently established a special committee to study the matter.
That committee, however, has yet to begin work, and no upcoming meetings are listed on its website, even though CBS reported in August that it would convene “as early as the week of Oct. 6.” The Senate, meanwhile, has not created a similar committee.
Albritton hasn’t discussed redistricting much in the past, but when he’s been asked about it, he’s been noncommittal.
“We want to understand all the nooks and crannies of all of this, so you know, at this point, I’d leave it at that,” he told WFLA in August. “But functionally, at 30,000 feet, we’re wide open to the conversation.”
Governors
FL-Gov
Florida Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson is still not ruling out entering the Republican primary for governor, even though his name has largely faded from the conversation.
“People like us to do our job,” Simpson said in comments shared by Politico. “I’m going to do my job and we’ll get to campaigning when the time comes.” Simpson provided a similar response when asked whether that campaign would be for governor or his current post.
The commissioner, a longtime enemy of term-limited Gov. Ron DeSantis, had appeared to be a likely candidate to succeed him until February, when Donald Trump endorsed Rep. Byron Donalds. While Simpson still has over $30 million stockpiled, he has not made any obvious moves to prepare a gubernatorial campaign for quite some time.
VA-Gov
Cygnal (R) for the Republican Attorneys General Association: Abigail Spanberger (D): 49, Winsome Earle-Sears (R): 45 (unreleased Sept. poll: 50-43 Spanberger). This question was included as part of a poll of the attorney general race from RAGA released last week.
Former Rep. Jerry Carl has received the support of the Alabama Farmers Federation, which has long been an influential force in state politics, in next year’s Republican primary to regain his old House seat.
Carl faces state Rep. Rhett Marques and Army veteran Joshua McKee for the safely red seat that Rep. Barry Moore, who defeated Carl last year in an incumbent vs. incumbent primary, is leaving to run for the Senate.
TX-35
Bexar County Sheriff’s Deputy Johnny Garcia on Thursday became the first notable Democrat to announce a bid for Texas’ open 35th District, which Republicans are aiming to flip under their new gerrymander.
The new incarnation of this constituency would have backed Donald Trump 55-44 last year but would have voted for him a slimmer 50-48 spread in 2020. But Garcia, who touts himself as “an old-school Democrat,” argues he’s the right candidate to win the new-look 35th, which includes some of San Antonio as well as rural areas to the east and south.
“I’ve served this community, patrolling rural areas of Bexar County, working in the jail, protecting and serving, and then transferring out to patrol,” Garcia told the audience at his kickoff event. “This is not foreign to me. This community is not foreign to me, both urban or rural.”
Garcia, though, may have some company in the March primary. Businessman Beto Altamirano, who took third place in May’s busy nonpartisan primary for mayor of San Antonio, expressed interest in running here last month.
Far better if Tom Steyer invests in news media – for example purchasing channels owned by Sinclair Broadcast and turning them into real and reliable news media. Ditto with a few other non-MAGA billionaires. It’s high time they step up to defend American democracy!
To the list of big spenders who lost races in California should be added Michael Huffington, who spent $24 million in a losing bid to keep Dianne Feinstein from returning to the Senate in 1994.
Far better if Tom Steyer invests in news media – for example purchasing channels owned by Sinclair Broadcast and turning them into real and reliable news media. Ditto with a few other non-MAGA billionaires. It’s high time they step up to defend American democracy!
To the list of big spenders who lost races in California should be added Michael Huffington, who spent $24 million in a losing bid to keep Dianne Feinstein from returning to the Senate in 1994.