<\/p>\n
Our Revolution<\/span>, the progressive group founded by Bernie Sanders as an outgrowth of his 2016 presidential campaign, is endorsing its first billionaire as the race for California governor tightens.\u00a0<\/p>\n Tom Steyer, a hedge-fund billionaire and philanthropist, won the group\u2019s endorsement on Monday. Our Revolution said its decision to back Steyer was driven in part by the shakeup over Rep. Eric Swalwell\u2019s exit<\/a> and fear that if progressives fail to consolidate around a candidate, they\u2019ll hand the gubernatorial seat to a Republican.<\/p>\n \u201cThe worst thing that could happen is a Republican winning.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/figure>\n \u201cWhile yes, he is a billionaire, and that\u2019s a real and important concern, it\u2019s equally important to recognize how he\u2019s used his wealth and power,\u201d said Our Revolution Executive Director Joseph Geevarghese. <\/p>\n Steyer, he said, is the candidate most ideologically aligned with his group\u2019s pledge to fight corporate power in politics \u2014 and the most likely to win.<\/p>\n \u201cThe worst thing that could happen is a Republican winning,\u201d Geevarghese said. \u201cStrategically, Steyer and his campaign is best positioned to make sure that does not happen.\u201d<\/p>\n When California voters cast their ballots in the June 2 primary, the two leading candidates will advance to the general election \u2014 no matter their party affiliation. Since January, polling has shown two Republicans candidates \u2014 former Fox News host Steve Hilton and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco \u2014 in the lead. President Donald Trump endorsed Hilton earlier this month.\u00a0<\/p>\n Left-leaning voters remain split across a wide Democratic field, with Swalwell and Steyer emerging as frontrunners. Swalwell pulled ahead in some polls in March, before dropping out of the race and resigning from Congress last week amid a series of allegations of sexual assault and harassment<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Since Swalwell\u2019s exit, Steyer has risen<\/a> in polls, along with former Rep. Katie Porter, D-Calif. But with Republicans still leading, progressives are now grappling with how best to achieve their policy priorities in a pool of candidates from which a clear favorite has yet to emerge.\u00a0<\/p>\n Geevarghese said that Steyer aggressively sought Our Revolution\u2019s endorsement throughout the race. Porter also sought the endorsement, but hasn\u2019t pulled ahead or demonstrated a clear path to victory, Geevarghese said.\u00a0<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Porter, a progressive who flipped a Republican seat in Orange County campaigning <\/a>on fighting corporate power, faced backlash last year after videos surfaced of her yelling at a staffer during a television interview. While she has the longest progressive record in office of the Democratic candidates in the field, left voters haven\u2019t necessarily been convinced<\/a> by her campaign. Porter has been endorsed by Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., former New York Rep. Mondaire Jones, Emily\u2019s List, End Citizens United, and several California unions, but has hovered behind behind Hilton, Bianco, Swalwell, and Steyer in recent polling.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe do have a concern about whether she would be the stronger candidate in the field to consolidate for progressives,\u201d Geevarghese said. He added that even before the implosion of Swalwell\u2019s campaign, Our Revolution would not have supported Swalwell.<\/p>\n After previously having coalesced around Swalwell, some allies of Gov. Gavin Newsom are now considering backing<\/a> another more moderate Democrat, former Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra. Becerra has also risen in polling<\/a> since Swalwell\u2019s exit.\u00a0<\/p>\n Steyer has spent $120 million of his own money on ads for himself, more than any other campaign in the country this cycle, Politico reported<\/a>. While he\u2019s been mostly known in politics for his advocacy on climate change and a failed 2020 presidential bid<\/a> that cost him more than $300 million, Steyer has leaned heavily into economic populism during his gubernatorial bid. He says he will support a wealth tax and has called for billionaires and corporations to pay more in taxes. He has also focused much of his criticism on Trump.\u00a0<\/p>\n One policy shift since his failed presidential campaign is Steyer\u2019s position on single-payer health care.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIn 2019, I didn\u2019t think we needed single-payer health care,\u201d Steyer said in a campaign video earlier this month. \u201cBoy was I wrong, and boy was Bernie right. I\u2019ve looked at the data. We don\u2019t have a choice. For us to provide health care to everybody who needs it, we\u2019ve got to go to single-payer. And there\u2019s no other way.\u201d<\/p>\n <\/p>\n\n