{"id":88,"date":"2026-05-27T10:12:09","date_gmt":"2026-05-27T10:12:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=88"},"modified":"2026-05-27T10:12:09","modified_gmt":"2026-05-27T10:12:09","slug":"trendingnow-32","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=88","title":{"rendered":"Trendingnow"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Steyer \u2014\u00a0a former hedge fund manager turned liberal activist\u00a0\u2014 has spent or booked more than $195 million in ads for broadcast TV, cable and radio with the tally still growing, according to data compiled by advertising tracker AdImpact.<\/p>\n

Read more Trendingnow<\/a><\/p>\n

His torrent of ads have opened the\u00a0one-time presidential candidate\u00a0to criticism that he is trying to buy the governor\u2019s chair, and his ad total represents more than 20 times the amount spent by his nearest rival,\u00a0fellow Democrat Xavier Becerra,\u00a0as the two duel for a spot in the November election.<\/p>\n

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Nationally, no one is close.<\/p>\n

In Georgia, Republican health care executive Rick Jackson has spent about $83 million on advertising in his primary race for governor, which is headed for a June runoff, ranking him second. The third place spot is held by his Republican rival, Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, who has\u00a0President Donald Trump\u2019s\u00a0endorsement and has spent nearly $31 million on ads, according to AdImpact.<\/p>\n

Following Jones was Democratic\u00a0U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi\u00a0of Illinois, who spent over $28 million on advertising in a failed bid for U.S. Senate.<\/p>\n

Trying to \u2018buy the governor\u2019s office?\u2019<\/h4>\n

Katie Porter,\u00a0a former U.S. House member who is among seven established Democrats in the California race, has repeatedly criticized Steyer for dipping into his personal fortune to keep ads in front of voters with scant competition from rivals.<\/p>\n

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\u201cShe isn\u2019t spending hundreds of millions of dollars of personal wealth trying to buy the governor\u2019s office,\u201d her campaign wrote in an email to supporters.<\/p>\n

In raw numbers, Steyer ad blitz has eclipsed the 2010 record set by Republican Meg Whitman, who spent $178.5 million in total on a losing bid for governor, much of it her own money. At the time, it was the costliest campaign for statewide office in the nation\u2019s history. When adjusted for inflation, however, Whitman still holds the state record, but that represented spending for the full election, not just the primary.<\/p>\n

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A crowded field with no clear leader<\/h4>\n

Steyer\u2019s record-level output has lifted him into contention in the crowded race but he\u2019s not breaking away from the field. He\u2019s among a leading group of several candidates \u2014 including Becerra and\u00a0Republican Steve Hilton\u00a0\u2014 as the campaign heads toward a June 2 primary. Mail voting started earlier this month.<\/p>\n

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Still, Steyer\u2019s cash advantage is giving him a publicity edge as the contest enters its crucial final days. He\u2019s kept up a steady flow of advertising and online posts questioning Becerra\u2019s credentials and record, with Becerra, a former state attorney general and Biden administration health secretary, lacking the funds to reply in kind.<\/p>\n

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One Becerra ad sought to connect with voters who might be getting bleary-eyed from the cascade of Steyer advertising. It used tranquil scenes of Joshua trees, waves curling on a beach and soaring redwoods with a gentle prod, \u201cYou can stop the endless Tom Steyer ads. Vote Xavier Becerra.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Trendingnow<\/a><\/p>\n

Steyer\u2019s financial edge has allowed him to stretch the boundaries of his campaign far beyond traditional TV and radio ads, with steady posts on online platforms like YouTube and Instagram. The\u00a0New York Times reported\u00a0that his campaign paid a progressive Texas influencer $100,000 to help Steyer win the election. The Sacramento Bee\u00a0reported that Becerra, too,\u00a0had hired an influencer.<\/p>\n

Many voters have been slow to vote in a race\u00a0without a star candidate and no clear leader. More than 50 names will be on the ballot. California uses a \u201ctop two\u201d primary system that puts all candidates on one ballot, with only the top two vote-getters advancing to November, regardless of party.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn a race this close, it all matters,\u201d said Democratic consultant Andrew Acosta.<\/p>\n

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Money doesn\u2019t always make the difference<\/h4>\n

History shows that money doesn\u2019t always translate into votes.<\/p>\n

Billionaire developer Rick Caruso spent over $100 million in 2022 in his bid to become Los Angeles mayor, much of it his own money, but he was handily defeated by Mayor Karen Bass, who spent a fraction of Caruso\u2019s total. Billionaire\u00a0former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg\u00a0spent more than $1 billion of his own money on his 2020 presidential bid before dropping out.\u00a0And Steyer\u2019s money\u00a0was unable to lift him into contention in the 2020 presidential contest,\u00a0when he dropped out\u00a0early in the year after a poor finish in the South Carolina primary.<\/p>\n

Democratic San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan\u2019s campaign for governor was supported by independent committees bankrolled with millions of dollars from tech leaders and venture capitalists, yet he failed to gain traction in the race.<\/p>\n

Steyer has never held elected office.<\/p>\n

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In a 2019 interview with The Associated Press,\u00a0Steyer was asked what he would say to people who think he\u2019s trying to buy the presidency.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think that\u2019s possible,\u201d Steyer said at the time, before adding, \u201cI\u2019m never going to apologize for succeeding in business. That\u2019s America, right?\u201d<\/p>\n

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The contest is unfolding as California struggles with a\u00a0long-running homeless crisis,\u00a0wildfire insurance shortages,\u00a0projected budget shortfalls\u00a0and housing costs that are out of reach for many working-class families. Voters, meanwhile, are saddled with growing everyday bills for groceries, utilities and gas.<\/p>\n

The AdImpact data does not include ads on some popular streaming services like Hulu and YouTube or mail advertising.<\/p>\n

Read more Trendingnow<\/a><\/p>\n

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Steyer \u2014\u00a0a former hedge fund manager turned liberal activist\u00a0\u2014 has spent or booked more than $195 million in<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":43,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-88","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"\nTrendingnow - Cross Country Moving Team<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=88\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Trendingnow - Cross Country Moving Team\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Steyer \u2014\u00a0a former hedge fund manager turned liberal activist\u00a0\u2014 has spent or booked more than $195 million in\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=88\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Cross Country Moving Team\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-27T10:12:09+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/175605f33de86f2443ba4177dfff3799.webp\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/webp\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/?p=88#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/?p=88\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/1b8121bfb9a1c55d1fff3fca675fceaa\"},\"headline\":\"Trendingnow\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-27T10:12:09+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/?p=88\"},\"wordCount\":891,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/?p=88#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/175605f33de86f2443ba4177dfff3799.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Interesting\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/?p=88#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/?p=88\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/?p=88\",\"name\":\"Trendingnow - 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