Steyer Doubles Down On Climate In Bid For Progressive Voters

Turns out that Tom Steyer wants to be the climate guy in the governor’s race after all.

After launching his campaign with an ad focused on affordability and eschewing any mention of climate, the Democratic billionaire has changed his tune.

“I know it’s climate week, but every week is climate week, and in my administration, every day will be climate day,” Steyer said during a town hall he held Monday during San Francisco climate week, an annual series of events in the city.

The shift comes as he tries to lay claim to a progressive lane in the fractured but narrowing Democratic field. The latest polls show him among the leaders, along with former Biden Health Secretary Xavier Becerra and former Rep. Katie Porter, after Eric Swalwell’s campaign dramatically collapsed last week.

Meanwhile, outside groups have ramped up spending against him, including electrical worker unions, Pacific Gas & Electric and the California Chamber of Commerce, which pitched in $5 million to the independent expenditure committee opposing Steyer on Wednesday. The committee’s attack ads have homed in on a specific vulnerability: voter mistrust of Steyer’s wealth, including profits from coal-related companies reaped by the hedge fund Steyer founded. The Steyer team's response has been to lean in, and try to turn the attacks to their advantage.

“I'm the person who's taking on the funded corporate interests who are driving up costs for Californians in every place,” Steyer said during a gubernatorial debate Wednesday night. “No one wants to take them on. I'm doing it. They're spending tens of millions.”

Steyer’s recent embrace of the climate warrior identity includes: designating himself a “climate advocate” on the ballot, describing himself as the “#1 climate candidate” in recent mailers, consolidating new endorsements from environmental groups, hosting a San Francisco climate week town hall, and airing a new ad on Wednesday in which actress and environmental advocate Jane Fonda touts his experience battling oil and gas companies.

His team is making a clear bet that climate change issues will resonate with voters, even as polling consistently shows that cost of living and health care rank higher among their list of concerns. They seem to believe that undecided progressives will be swayed enough by the candidate’s record on climate to vote for him.

“What’s changed is, the field has sort of winnowed out, and people are looking for a place to land,” said Andrew Acosta, a veteran Democratic campaign consultant. Steyer’s recent mailer also lists fighting for single-payer health care, banning corporate PAC money and abolishing ICE, he noted. “It’s literally taking the progressive menu and ordering everything off of it,” Acosta said.

The Steyer team’s effort to recalibrate his message is also an attempt to play up his most significant record in politics. In 2012, Steyer left his hedge fund to devote himself to fighting climate change. He launched NextGen Climate Action Committee, an advocacy group focused on supporting climate candidates, and became a frequent Democratic donor. His short-lived presidential campaign was largely focused on preventing the worst effects of climate change.

“Were he elected, there's no question he'd be the most knowledgeable and committed climate advocate that's ever held really high office in America,” said environmental activist and author Bill McKibben, who endorsed Steyer.

A campaign spokesperson, granted anonymity to discuss internal strategy, said the team weighed different alternatives for the ballot designation, but they were all focused on climate. “It’s just what he is,” the spokesperson said.

Steyer is also using climate policies to separate himself from competitors.

When San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan proposed temporarily lifting California’s gas tax in light of rising gas prices, Steyer instead called for an excess profits tax on oil companies. And when Mahan and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa criticized the California Air Resources Board’s carbon market proposal for potentially raising gas prices and driving refineries out of state, Steyer urged the powerful air regulator to stay the course. (He may have misjudged: CARB proposed weakening its draft proposal this month.)

Steyer is likely going to keep touting his climate creds to shore up his standing in the race. An internal California Democratic Party poll this week showed Becerra surging from 4 to 13 percent of the likely primary vote after Swalwell dropped out, putting him neck-and-neck with Steyer. Becerra has broken with much of the Democratic field to accept campaign donations from oil companies, including Chevron and Phillips 66.

For all the climate focus, Steyer is still careful with his talking points. He told a reporter on Monday his focus was “still on affordability.”

“When I talk about climate, I don’t talk about climate. I talk about electricity,” Steyer said. “In so many of the issues, driving down costs is doing the smart climate thing.”

Alex Nieves and Christine Mui contributed to this report.