Trailing in 3rd for Calif. governor, Tom Steyer speaks: ‘I remain an optimist’

Billionaire venture capitalist Tom Steyer said he was still optimistic Tuesday night, even as he was sitting in third place in the governor’s race and trailing by hundreds of thousands of votes.

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“I’ve always been an optimist, and tonight I remain an optimist,” Steyer said to the cheers of his supporters Tuesday night in San Francisco. “None of this is far off. These dreams are not too big. The better California we’ve been fighting for is possible, and it’s coming.”

As of 10 p.m. Tuesday, vote counts showed Republican Steve Hilton leading with 26.8% of the vote and Xavier Becerra in second with 25.8%, while Steyer trailed with 19.7%, according to the California Secretary of State’s website. Only the top two finishers will advance to the general election in November, and Steyer was trailing Becerra by over 250,000 votes late Tuesday night. 

These early vote totals included only partial reporting from 73.5% of election night precincts, according to the Secretary of State’s Office, and the vote totals will certainly change as more ballots are reported in the coming days and weeks. The New York Times estimated that Tuesday night’s releases included only about half of expected votes.

The later votes are more likely to come from people who cast mail-in ballots closer to Election Day. This year’s late ballots are trending to be significantly more Democratic than Republican, according to the New York Times, which could help either Steyer or Becerra. Independent election analysis firm Vote Hub said Steyer needs a large shift in the later votes to overtake Hilton, but that it “remains very possible.”

Becerra has been the dominant Democrat in polls since former Rep. Eric Swalwell withdrew from the race following sexual assault allegations. But Steyer emerged with late burst of support in the last week of polling, with two smaller polls this week showing Steyer tied with Hilton.

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Steyer has positioned himself as the most progressive major candidate in the race, vowing to pass single-payer healthcare in California, break up Pacific Gas and Electric’s utility monopoly, and support the proposed billionaire’s wealth tax. Becerra has run a much more moderate campaign, backing away from his support for single-payer healthcare, and saying he was skeptical of tax increases that could push businesses out of the state.

In his Tuesday remarks, Steyer framed his campaign as a clear battle to make billionaires and corporations “pay their fair share.”

“That’s what we’re fighting for together, and that’s what the corporations are hell bent on stopping,” Steyer said. “Because they know what we know: If we win, corporations lose.”