Steyer set to join the race; Swalwell out
Billionaire San Francisco Democratic donor and former hedge fund manager Tom Steyer planned to announce Tuesday that he’s entering the presidential race, reversing his decision from January, according to a source close to the campaign.
Steyer said in January that he would focus on impeaching President Trump instead of pursuing a presidential bid.
The news follows East Bay Democratic Rep. Eric Swalwell’s announcement Monday that he was ending his presidential campaign. Swalwell, who was unable to get attention or raise much money, will run for reelection to his House seat.
Steyer has developed a reputation as a flirt when it comes to running for office. He has explored running for California governor (in 2018) and U.S. Senate (in 2016) — as well as president — but has backed off each
time. He even recorded a campaign ad for his neverconsummated gubernatorial campaign.
A Steyer spokesman declined to comment Monday.
Steyer has become one of the nation’s leading Democratic donors over the past few years, investing tens of millions of dollars in grassroots organizing aimed at getting more young voters to the polls. His investments were key in helping Democrats make gains in Virginia’s state legislature and in helping California Democrats capture seven GOPheld House seats.
Over the last two years, Steyer has also become a national leader in the campaign to impeach Trump, starring in national TV and online ads. More than 8.2 million people have signed Steyer’s Need to Impeach online petition and he has barnstormed the country to raise awareness for it.
However, it is far from a given that those impeachment supporters will translate into Steyerforpresident supporters. Steyer’s name recognition remains low among voters. Given his vast personal wealth, Steyer would be able to selffund his campaign initially, but could use the credibility of having online donor support.
“A selfdonated dollar doesn’t go as far as a donated dollar in terms of meaning that you have support from people other than yourself,” said Terri Bimes, an expert on presidential politics who teaches at UC Berkeley.
Some progressive activists say that the billionaire should remain an advocate outside the presidential campaign instead of pursuing his own White House bid. The progressive wing of the Democratic party might not be excited about the candidacy of a 62yearold rich white man from San Francisco, whose wealth Forbes magazine estimates at $1.6 billion, especially when toptier candidates like Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders have pointedly made billionaires the poster children for the nation’s wealth inequality.
Plus, other candidates are talking about impeachment, and Washington Gov. Jay Inslee has made another Steyer signature issue — climate change — the focus of his White House run.
“What’s his lane?” said Aimee Allison, founder of the group She the People, which backs women of color in politics, and president of Democracy in Color. “There are already others in the campaign talking about impeachment. Is this his highest and best use?”
Swalwell pulled the plug Monday after his campaign didn’t see its polling improve following the first Democratic primary debate. He didn’t think he would be able to meet the Democratic National Committee’s requirement that participants in its September debate have 130,000 donors.
Swalwell, 38, said his campaign raised about $850,000 in the last quarter from 21,000 donors. His fellow Millennial candidate, South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg, reported raising $25 million over the quarter — tops among the Democrats who have announced their totals so far. Warren raised $19 million and California Sen. Kamala Harris pulled in $12 million, and both saw their poll numbers increase. Former Vice President Joe Biden continues to lead the early polling, likely because of his name recognition.
Swalwell was polling at less than 1% in the latest RealClearPolitics.com amalgamation of major polls.
“If there was a viable chance, I wouldn’t be standing here,” Swalwell said Monday at a press conference at his Dublin campaign headquarters. “As soon as it (didn’t) look likely to win, at least in my case, I didn’t want to mislead my family, my staff, our supporters, my constituents.”
Swalwell said he had “no regrets” about running even if his decision to enter the race was always curious. He has — or at least had — a safe East Bay congressional seat. He’s making a national impression through his presence on two major House committees and his ubiquity on cable TV news shows.
But the 38yearold Dublin Democrat had no discernible national fundraising base and little name recognition outside of cable TV junkies; and he’s a straight white guy from the suburbs running in the most diverse field of candidates in history. He frequently invoked his Iowa birth place to try to ingratiate himself to voters from the nation’s first presidential contest. But it didn’t work.
“I didn’t think he had a very effective story,” said Bimes. “He’s a congressman from Dublin — but he’s trying to pass off as he’s from Iowa. It was like he was trying to be someone he wasn’t.”
Swalwell now has a new challenge in his home congressional district: competition. Aisha Wahab, who became the first AfghanAmerican woman elected to office when she won a seat on the Hayward City Council last year, has said that she’s challenging Swalwell for his House seat.
“I'll be watching this announcement and will be waiting to hear directly from the campaign,” Wahab said before Swalwell’s announcement on Monday. “I will, as I've said before, reassess my position at that point in time.”
And Swalwell had a word of caution for Steyer as the congressman headed off the presidential stage Monday: “It’s rough out there. Welcome to the race, Tom.”