AP Photo/Steven Senne, File
- Former hedge-fund manager and Democratic activist Tom Steyer announced he’s running for president in 2020, making him a late entry into the race after previously ruling out a presidential bid back in January.
- Steyer, a billionaire and major Democratic donor, founded two organizations to advance Democratic causes: Need To Impeach and NextGen America, the latter of which focuses on climate change.
- In January 2019, Steyer said he did not plan to run for president and would be "dedicating 100% of my time and effort in 2019 towards Mr. Trump’s impeachment and removal from office."
- Despite being a well-connected billionaire and fairly well-known in Democratic circles, Steyer will face an uphill battle qualifying for the next round of Democratic primary debates, which are scheduled to take place on Sept. 12.
- Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
Former hedge-fund manager and Democratic activist Tom Steyer announced he’s running for president in 2020, making him a late entry into the race after previously ruling out a presidential bid back in January.
Steyer, a billionaire and major Democratic donor, founded two organizations to advance Democratic causes: Need To Impeach, which is advocating for Congress to begin impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump, and NextGen America, a group combatting climate change and backing political candidates who support strong climate action.
In a video announcing his candidacy, Steyer denounced the role of corporate money in politics, saying "we’ve got to take the corporate control out of our politics…we care about improving the world and handing it on to the next generation in a way so they can lead better lives than we’ve had. If we don’t do those two things, shame on us."
A spokesman for Steyer told The New York Times he plans to spend at least $100 million of his own money on his candidacy, dwarfing the fundraising performances of the current frontrunners.
In January 2019, Steyer said he did not plan to run for president and would be "dedicating 100% of my time and effort in 2019 towards Mr. Trump’s impeachment and removal from office."
Steyer’s late entrance into the race comes after two other billionaires, former Mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York City and former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz decided against presidential runs.
In a January interview with INSIDER, Steyer criticized Schultz, who floated the idea of running as an independent, as "not ready for primetime."
According to The Atlantic, which first reported Steyer’s planned late entrance into the 2020 field, Steyer is concerned that Gov. Jay Inslee‘s climate-centered presidential campaign isn’t gaining enough traction and thinks the field could use another powerful voice on climate issues.
Sources close to him also told the The Atlantic that Steyer, who is 62 and based in San Francisco, thought that a longshot presidential bid could be his only chance to run for political office.
Another person close to Steyer similarly told The Washington Post that Steyer doesn’t feel completely confident in the current field of 25 Democrats seeking the 2020 nomination and thinks his successful record as a businessman can give him an edge in the field.
"You never know with Tom until he actually pulls the trigger, but he’s telling a lot of people he works with and trusts that he’s going to do it," a source close to him told The Post.
Despite being a well-connected billionaire and well-known in prominent Democratic circles, Steyer will face an uphill battle qualifying for the next round of Democratic primary debates, which are scheduled to take place on Sept. 12.
In order to make the stage, Steyer will have to both earn 130,000 unique donors and reach 2% in four Democratic National Committee-approved polls by August 29.
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See Also:
- California congressman Eric Swalwell just dropped out of the 2020 presidential race to run for re-election in the House
- Marianne Williamson helped a protest candidate get a surge of campaign donations to aid him in qualifying for the next debates
- Conservatives say Democrats should adopt centrist policies if they want to win back Trump voters. But there’s a much more effective way for them to defeat Trump.
Source: Business Insider – gpanetta@businessinsider.com (Grace Panetta)