Tom Steyer's "Need to Impeach" campaign enlisted its six millionth supporter over the weekend, according to a tweet from Alberto Lammers, deputy director of communications for Need to Impeach.
The milestone for the campaign that was launched one year ago came on the same weekend that Steyer hosted a fundraiser for nine California House candidates, most of who have been disciplined in their silence on the topic of impeachment.
As the Washington Free Beacon reported in September, records searches showed five of the nine California candidates supported by this Steyer fundraiser, "turned up no comment or position offered on the idea of impeaching President Trump, which is more likely if Democrats retake the majority in the House in the fall elections."
"Those candidates and their corresponding house district are Jessica Morse (CA-04), Josh Harder (CA-10), T.J. Cox (CA-21), Katie Hill (CA-25), and Mike Levin (CA-49)."
At the time of that report, a spokeswoman for Steyer's NextGen America PAC said the issue of impeachment was not the central focus of how the billionaire picked which candidates to support.
"NextGen America is working in 11 states and 30-plus congressional districts across the country and we've been clear impeachment isn't a litmus test," said Aleigha Cavalier, a spokeswoman for Steyer's NextGen America PAC. "California is one of those states."
Seven of the nine California candidates are getting additional help from Steyer thanks to his voter registration drive. The Free Beacon also reported a week ago that although the registration efforts were centered on swing states, there was also a focus on new registrations in California house districts, some of which were thought to be newly competitive, as ranked by the Cook Political Report.
The billionaire's political opponents and supporters have had some fun with both the fundraiser and the "Need to Impeach" milestone.
The group Power the Future, an advocacy non-profit, spoofed the politics of the fundraiser with a video "The Steyer Bunch" with graphics modeled off the opening of The Brady Bunch television show from the 1970's.
With regards to the tweet that announced the six millionth supporter of the impeachment campaign, one supporter replied:
"Don't get me wrong. I agree with many of the things @TomSteyer says and the impeach trump movement but in a country with 350 million people and 130 million voters... 6 million petition signatures sounds like a rounding error."
Even though the impeachment campaign is aimed at a Republican president, it has rankled many Democrats as it has progressed.
"It's a very small issue for most California voters," said Wesley Hussey, associate professor of political science at Sacramento State, in a story by the Sacramento Bee. "It probably makes more Republicans angry than Democrats happy."
David Axelrod, a former senior adviser to President Obama, tweeted last year that, "Steyer impeachment ads seem to me more of a vanity project than a call to action."
BREAKING: @TomSteyer's Need to Impeach campaign to remove Trump from office surpasses 6 million supporters. #BlueWave2018 #ImpeachTrumpNow pic.twitter.com/YJKVqQs5VF
— Alberto Lammers (@albertorlammers) October 11, 2018