{"id":1021,"date":"2026-06-10T21:13:47","date_gmt":"2026-06-10T21:13:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/?p=1021"},"modified":"2026-06-10T21:13:47","modified_gmt":"2026-06-10T21:13:47","slug":"the-limits-of-self-funding-from-the-politics-desk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/trustedmovinggroups.com\/?p=1021","title":{"rendered":"The limits of self-funding: From the Politics Desk"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Welcome to <\/em>From the Politics Desk<\/em>, a daily newsletter that brings you the NBC News Politics team\u2019s latest reporting and analysis from the White House, Capitol Hill and the campaign trail.<\/em><\/p>\n

Read more Indiana mother of 7 who went missing in Mexico is found dead, her family says<\/a><\/p>\n

In today\u2019s edition, Ben Kamisar takes stock of the half-billion dollars Tom Steyer has spent over the course of two unsuccessful bids for office. Plus, Andrea Mitchell digs into the latest back-and-forth between the U.S. and Iran. <\/em><\/p>\n

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Sign up to receive this newsletter in your inbox every weekday here.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u2014 Adam Wollner<\/em><\/p>\n

More than $200 million later, Tom Steyer\u2019s second bid for elected office is done<\/h2>\n

By Ben Kamisar<\/h3>\n

Billionaire climate activist Tom Steyer<\/strong>\u2019s bid for governor of California is the second time he has spent more than nine figures in an unsuccessful attempt to win public office.<\/p>\n

NBC News projected yesterday that former Fox News host Steve Hilton<\/strong> advanced to the general election for governor, joining former Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra. That means Steyer is out, unable to push into the top two spots in the all-party primary.<\/p>\n

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Steyer spent more than $215 million of his own money on his campaign, according to the latest state campaign finance reports. That money has helped Steyer flood the airwaves with a staggering $209 million in ad spending, according to the ad-tracking firm AdImpact.<\/p>\n

To put that spending in context, that\u2019s about two-thirds of all ad spending in the entire governor\u2019s race, including dozens of candidates and outside groups. Becerra, the candidate who has spent the second-most on ads, spent $11.7 million, according to AdImpact.<\/p>\n

Six years ago, Steyer used a similar strategy in his bid for president, giving his campaign more than $300 million \u2014 $318 million in contributions and another $24 million in loans, according to federal campaign finance disclosures.<\/p>\n

Even though he dropped out in late February 2020 after the four early contests, Steyer\u2019s campaign spent more money than every other candidate except three: the two eventual nominees \u2014 Joe Biden<\/strong> and Donald Trump<\/strong> \u2014 and another self-funding billionaire, Michael Bloomberg<\/strong>. <\/p>\n

Bloomberg, the former mayor of New York, entered the contest late and spent more than $1 billion in his own ill-fated attempt to win the Democratic presidential nomination. <\/p>\n

The next test for a self-funding billionaire candidate will come next week: Healthcare executive Rick Jackson<\/strong>, who has poured more than $90 million into his Georgia gubernatorial campaign, faces Lt. Gov. Burt Jones<\/strong> in a Republican primary runoff. <\/p>\n

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Read more \u2192<\/strong><\/p>\n

For subscribers: The Democratic fight over Graham Platner has just begun<\/h2>\n

By Jonathan Allen and Natasha Korecki<\/h3>\n

Graham Platner<\/strong> clinched the Democratic nomination for Senate in Maine yesterday, but the party isn\u2019t finished fighting over his candidacy \u2014 not by a long shot. <\/p>\n

With Maine playing a central role in Democrats\u2019 efforts to win control of the Senate, there are active behind-the-scenes discussions over whether he can be pressured to withdraw before the state\u2019s mid-July deadline.<\/p>\n

Keep reading \u2192<\/strong><\/p>\n

\ud83d\uddf3\ufe0f More from last night\u2019s election results<\/strong><\/p>\n