ADVERTISEMENT

Tom Steyer to Spend $5 Million on Gillum in Florida Governor's Race

Tom Steyer / Getty Images
September 26, 2018

Billionaire Democratic activist Tom Steyer will be pouring more than $5.2 million into the Florida gubernatorial race to back Andrew Gillum, the Democratic nominee.

The money will go towards digital advertising and turning out young and minority voters in a state that hasn’t elected a Democratic governor in decades, the New York Times reported Wednesday.

Gillum, the self-described "most progressive candidate" during the Democratic primaries, has declined to address whether he’s a socialist, saying "[t]hese labels are insignificant when it comes to everyday life of people in the state," and "mean nothing." Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) endorsed Gillum in August.

Gillum is the mayor of Tallahassee and has come under scrutiny for personal spending and corruption within his administration. Gillum has been under investigation by the Florida Commission on Ethics for trips to Puerto Rico and New York City. He released documents aimed to show no wrongdoing, but the Tallahassee Democrat reported that the documents "leave unanswered questions."

Gillum’s office also admitted in 2017 that he had met with Gillum met with Mike Miller, an undercover FBI agent posing as a real estate developer. The FBI has yet to file charges.

Steyer has made Gillum’s progressive campaign the center of his 2018 efforts. His $5 million in Florida is the most he plans to spend anywhere through November. Steyer and fellow billionaire George Soros organized a $650,000 push for Gillum during the primaries, a rare show of support for one Democrat over another.

"We don’t often get involved in D-on-D," Steyer said, "so it must be because we have such high regard for him, for the ideas he represents and what he can do for Florida."

Gillum won 34 percent of the vote in the Democratic primary, a plurality sufficient to secure the nomination. Gillum is running against Republican nominee Ron DeSantis, who resigned from the U.S. Congress earlier this month to focus on the race.

DeSantis criticized the media for ignoring Gillum for surrounding himself with anti-Semites while blaming DeSantis for the statements of supporters. He told reporters earlier this week: "I can find anti-Semites around him."

Gillum has met with members of the Council on America-Islamic Relations (CAIR). CAIR was an unindicted co-conspirator in the Holy Land Foundation case. The case centered on terror finance, and CAIR’s function as "the product of a Hamas-support network in the United States." A press-release from CAIR-Florida confirmed Gillum's warm address to the group.

DeSantis received Trump’s endorsement in June. 

https://twitter.com/realdonaldtrump/status/944276471614509057

Steyer’s cash injection into the race marks an escalation in his anti-Trump efforts. Steyer has long sought Trump’s impeachment, and views Gillum as part of that effort.

"He’s a fierce gun control person, he’s been a climate champion," Steyer said. "He’s called for the impeachment of the president. He’s been willing to talk plainly to Florida voters, and they’ve responded."

Republicans have claimed Steyer’s enthusiasm shows Gillum is out of touch with Floridians.

"By embracing California billionaire Tom Steyer and his unpopular obsession with impeachment, Andrew Gillum is once again demonstrating to Florida voters that his radical campaign is too extreme and too out of touch," said Jon Thompson, a spokesman for the Republican Governors Association.

Gillum has spoken about the importance of returning the power of Florida’s government to "everyday people." A New Yorker profile of Gillum reacted skeptically to the claim, noting, "I remembered Gillum sitting in the back of the campaign bus, phone pressed to his ear, a donor talking on the other end."

Steyer’s cash promises to help Gillum in November. Polls show Gillum ahead of DeSantis by 4 to 8 points.