Billionaire businessman and activist Tom Steyer is officially running for governor of California, entering a packed and unpredictable race to replace outgoing Gov. Gavin Newsom.
According to The Associated Press, Steyer, 68, announced his campaign on Wednesday, positioning himself as a Democrat focused on affordability, economic reform and environmental protection.
His enormous personal fortune immediately makes him a formidable contender in a field with more than six Democrats and two Republicans vying for the top two spots in the all-party June primary.
“Californians deserve a life they can afford,” Steyer said in a campaign video. “But the Californians who make this state run are being run over by the cost of living.”
His entry shakes up a race that had no clear frontrunner.
Candidates like progressive Rep. Katie Porter, former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and former U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra is already jockeying for support.
Porter, once seen as a leading contender, has faced renewed scrutiny in recent weeks, leaving the field more open than expected.
Steyer’s wealth — which he noted has produced “billions of dollars” — gives him a major financial advantage in a state where media buys are notoriously expensive. Still, California voters have rejected wealthy self-funded candidates before.
Carly Fiorina and Meg Whitman each poured huge sums into 2010 statewide campaigns, only to lose decisively.
Steyer addressed his own fortune with a mix of acknowledgement and critique. “The richest people in America think that they earned everything themselves,” he said, dismissing that idea with an expletive. He pledged to “make corporations pay their fair share again,” pointing to previous ballot initiatives he helped champion.
In 2012, Steyer backed a measure closing corporate tax loopholes and directing new revenue toward energy upgrades in public schools. In 2016, he supported the successful campaign to raise taxes on tobacco products by $2 per pack. He also helped defeat a 2010 effort to weaken California’s climate law.
Nationally, Steyer became widely known for spending millions to advocate for President Donald Trump’s impeachment before launching an unsuccessful 2020 presidential bid.
He poured more than $200 million into that campaign, secured no delegates and ended his run after a distant third-place finish in South Carolina behind President Joe Biden and Sen. Bernie Sanders.
He later backed Biden’s 2024 reelection effort, which ended when Biden stepped aside for then–Vice President Kamala Harris.
Harris has been floated as a possible future gubernatorial candidate but has repeatedly said she has “no plans to run,” adding on Oct. 17 that she wants Democrats to have “the best and the brightest running and winning.”
Sen. Alex Padilla has also made clear he will remain in the Senate, leaving Steyer as one of the highest-profile Democrats to jump into the race so far.
With months to go before the June primary, the contest remains wide open — and Steyer’s return to California politics has ensured it will draw national attention.
