Former Democratic presidential candidate Tom Steyer has launched a campaign for Governor of California. Steyer sought the Democratic nomination in the 2020 presidential election, but he dropped out after the first four state contests. “I’m running for governor because Californians deserve a life they can afford. Sacramento politicians are afraid to change this system. I’m not,” Steyer said Watch his campaign announcement video: I’m running for governor because Californians deserve a life they can afford. Sacramento politicians are afraid to change this system. I’m not. Join us: https://t.co/YWoyLaGYSa pic.twitter.com/fE1sSnkD4Y — Tom Steyer (@TomSteyer) November 19, 2025 CNN has more: The former hedge fund manager stirred speculation that he was considering a run last month when he committed $12 million to the campaign to boost Proposition 50, a ballot initiative passed this month that will allow California Democrats to redraw the state’s congressional map in their party’s favor. Steyer is joining a crowded field with no clear front-runner after former Vice President Kamala Harris and US Sen. Alex Padilla both passed on running. Among the candidates is Xavier Becerra, the former health and human services secretary, and Katie Porter, the former congresswoman who faced criticism after videos of her bristling under follow-up questions in an interview and yelling at a staffer went viral. Other candidates include former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, Republican commentator Steve Hilton and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco. Newsom is term-limited and considered a contender for the Democrats’ 2028 presidential nomination. Recent polls have shown a wide-open race in California’s upcoming gubernatorial election, with Republican candidates leading some surveys in the deep-blue state. California has a jungle primary system, where the top two candidates, regardless of party affiliation, advance to the general election. Surprise Poll Shows Republican Leading Wide-Open Gubernatorial Field In Deep-Blue State More from the Associated Press: At one time, Porter was viewed as a top contender but the contest is now seen as wide open. Steyer’s personal fortune could give him an advantage in reaching voters through television and digital advertising in an expansive state with nearly 40 million people and multiple media markets. Still, tremendous wealth has not necessarily translated to statewide electoral success in California: Carly Fiorina, a former Hewlett-Packard CEO, could not unseat Democratic U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer in their 2010 matchup. Meg Whitman, a onetime CEO of eBay, spent more than $100 million of her own money in a losing governor’s campaign that same year. Steyer nodded to his wealth Wednesday, noting his business enterprises made “billions of dollars.” But he also sounded populist tones. “The richest people in America think that they earned everything themselves,” he said, before dismissing that notion with an expletive for bovine excrement. “That’s so ridiculous.” Steyer said he would “make corporations pay their fair share again,” and his campaign cited his previous work on ballot initiatives with similar aims. Steyer was a leading advocate for a 2012 ballot initiative that made it harder for corporations to avoid certain taxes. The new revenue was steered to energy improvements in the state’s public schools. In other referendum work, Steyer helped lead the 2016 campaign that yielded a $2 per-pack tax hike on tobacco products. The money was steered to state health care programs, including tobacco-prevention efforts. And Steyer was a top opponent of a 2010 ballot initiative that would have rolled back California’s clean air and climate law, which has been viewed as a national standard on climate policy.