Billionaire Tom Steyer is vastly outspending his gubernatorial rivals so far
Tom Steyer, the billionaire running for governor on an affordability platform, is vastly outspending his rivals in the race, but it has yet to denote him as a clear frontrunner.
The San Francisco investor and longtime backer of progressive political causes has spent more than $27 million since entering the race last fall, according to the California Secretary of State’s website, which disclosed new filings this week. The next highest spender was Republican candidate Steve Hilton, who spent $3.8 million. The top-spending Democrat candidate in the race behind Steyer is former U.S. Rep. Katie Porter, who dropped just under $3 million last year.
Porter and current Rep. Eric Swalwell have tied in recent polling. Steyer has trailed behind them but has climbed in popularity since his initial entrance into the race. Swalwell spent less than $700,000 last year, according to his committee’s campaign filing. He reported $2.6 million still in his warchest, while Porter reported $3.2 million. Former Los Angeles Mayor and California Assembly Speaker Antonio Villaraigosa reported having $3.6 million on hand, and former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra held $3.8 million.
The numbers are strikingly low for a campaign for an open governor’s seat, longtime Democratic strategist Garry South told The Sacramento Bee. “Other than Steyer these candidates are raising money at about the rate you would expect in a state senate race,” he said.
As of December 30, there were more than 23 million registered California voters, according to Secretary of State data. Making your pitch in a pool of that size is an expensive task, South said. “It’s a huge, huge constituency you have to appeal to,” he said. But even in that environment, Steyer’s considerable spending hasn’t helped the billionaire pull ahead in the polling in any significant way South noted.
Steyer had drawn his account down to $1.9 million by the end of last year. But he has the ability to rapidly refill it with a self donation, as he did in November, when he cut a $20 million check to start his campaign.
A spokesperson for Steyer did not provide a comment by publication time about how much the financier is willing to spend to become governor.
Some of the lackluster fundraising by other candidates could be because donors are hesitant to compete in a race where Steyer is so far dominating in spending on ads, longtime political consultant Steve Maviglio said in a phone interview with The Sacramento Bee
“They’re wiped out by the stroke of a pen from Tom Steyer,” Maviglio said. “It’s chilling the ability to fundraise for a lot of people.”
Political action committees have also yet to begin any major independent expenditures in the governor’s race opposing or supporting candidates on behalf of corporations, labor unions and other special interests. Those committees tend to open up their considerable arsenals closer to election day, which in the case of the gubernatorial race’s open primary comes June 2.
Over the past few months a series of high profile politicians — namely former Vice President Kamala Harris, current California Attorney General Rob Bonta and U.S. Senator Alex Padilla — all surfaced as possible candidates who would have entered the race with powerful support networks behind them, only to ultimately bow out of running. That’s left some of the usual wealthy campaign donors unsure of what candidate to back, Maviglio said.
“No one has really made a breakout move in the money, and I think that’s tied to no one has made a breakout move in the polls,” he said.
Another major unknown in the spending game is San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan. The mayor only announced his entrant into the race last week, and did not file any campaign finance reports. But Mahan, running from the heart of Silicon Valley with the backing of wealthy tech businesspeople — he also has the support of Los Angeles billionaire Rick Caruso — is likely to bring a fresh flood of spending into the campaign.
Steyer has already sought to distinguish his independent funding from Mahan’s campaign. “California needs a governor who will stand up to powerful interests, not carry their water,” a Steyer spokesperson said last week, responding to Mahan’s announcement.
With just four months to race, Mahan doesn’t have time to hold a lot of fundraisers or meetings and phone calls to raise money himself, South said. If the mayor is going to make a break through in the race at this point, it will likely come through deep-pocketed political action committees funded by tech billionaires, South said.
Steyer has unleashed a flood of videos advertising his positions, which notably, given his heavy spending, include calling for a ban on campaign giving by corporations and reigning in electrical utility companies to lower costs for Californians. The billionaire has mounted his campaign on economic issues, pitching voters on the idea that as an outsider without ties to special interests he can push changes through Sacramento to lower California’s cost of living.
This story was originally published February 3, 2026 at 5:27 PM.
