Billionaire Tom Steyer Drops Out of Democratic Presidential Race

(Bloomberg) -- Billionaire Tom Steyer ended his campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination after a disappointing finish in South Carolina, where he had hoped to make a stand.

Steyer didn’t garner enough of the vote to get any delegates. He had been betting on a strong performance in that state after doing poorly in the first three early contests, failing to crack the top four slots in Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada.

“I can’t see a path where I can win the presidency,” Steyer said in Columbia, South Carolina. “I have no regrets.”

In South Carolina, he spent millions on television ads before the other candidates invested in the state.

Steyer entered the race in July on a platform of reforming the role of money in politics and combating climate change. He also brought a willingness to spend freely from his personal fortune to deliver his message.

His departure leaves Michael Bloomberg as the only candidate left in the race who is self-funding his campaign.

(Bloomberg is the founder and majority owner of Bloomberg LP, the parent company of Bloomberg News.)

Steyer decided to run despite announcing in January 2019 that he wouldn’t seek the presidency and would instead focus on Need to Impeach, his advocacy organization devoted to removing President Donald Trump from office.

Steyer vowed to spend $100 million on his campaign. He spent almost three times that much, with expenditures of $271 million through the end of January.

He participated in four debates. Despite his efforts, Steyer never rose to be a top-tier candidate. He averaged at or below 2% nationally throughout the race according to RealClearPolitics.

Before running for president, Steyer founded Farallon Capital where he served as a co-senior managing partner and was a partner and member of the executive committee of private equity firm Hellman & Friedman. He and his wife signed the “giving pledge” agreeing to donate half of their net worth to charity within their lifetime. In 2013, Steyer launched the progressive political action committee NextGen America, which works to mobilize young voters and push progressive issues.

To contact the reporter on this story: Emma Kinery in Des Moines at ekinery@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Wendy Benjaminson at wbenjaminson@bloomberg.net, Larry Liebert, Magan Crane

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.