It turns out that Tom Steyer wants to be a climate change contender in the governor’s race after all.
After starting your campaign with an ad focused on affordability","Add":{"Target": :"New","Property":(),"url": :"https://www.politico.com/news/2025/12/05/tom-steyers-climate-pivot-signals-new-playbook-for-dems-00678252","_Identification": :"0000019d-bc51-d930-a7fd-bf59e1420006","_Type": :"33ac701a-72c1-316a-a3a5-13918cf384df"},"_Identification": :"0000019d-bc51-d930-a7fd-bf59e1420007","_Type": :"02ec1f82-5e56-3b8c-af6e-6fc7c8772266"}”>on strength And the Democratic billionaire has changed his tune, avoiding any mention of climate.
“I know it’s Climate Week, but every week is Climate Week, and in my administration, every day will be Climate Day,” Steyer said during a town hall held Monday during San Francisco Climate Week, an annual series of events held in the city.
The shift comes as he tries to stake a progressive path in a fractured but narrowing Democratic field. After Eric Swalwell’s campaign dramatically collapsed last week, the latest polls show him among the leaders along with former Biden Health Secretary Xavier Becerra and former Rep. Katie Porter.
Meanwhile, outside groups have stepped up spending against him, including the Electrical Workers Union, Pacific Gas & Electric and the California Chamber of Commerce, which on Wednesday gave $5 million to an independent expenditure committee opposing Steyer. The committee’s aggressive ads revealed a specific vulnerability: voters’ distrust of Steyer’s assets, including profits from coal-related companies obtained by hedge funds founded by Steyer. The Steyer team’s response has been to buckle down and try to turn the attacks to their advantage.
“I’m the guy who is taking on well-funded corporate interests who are driving up the costs for Californians everywhere,” Steyer said during a gubernatorial debate Wednesday night. “Nobody wants to take them on. I’m doing it. They’re spending crores.”
Recent adoptions of the Climate Warrior identity by Steyer include: designating herself a “Climate Advocate” on the ballot, describing herself as the “#1 Climate Candidate” in recent mailers, garnering new endorsements from environmental groups, hosting a San Francisco Climate Week town hall, and A new ad airedto do","Add":{"Target": :"New","Property":(),"url": :"https://www.youtube.com/watch?si=CKYCtKtabTrUgyhF&v=qdRezOYp4eM&feature=youtu.be","_Identification": :"0000019d-bc51-d930-a7fd-bf59e1420008","_Type": :"33ac701a-72c1-316a-a3a5-13918cf384df"},"_Identification": :"0000019d-bc51-d930-a7fd-bf59e1420009","_Type": :"02ec1f82-5e56-3b8c-af6e-6fc7c8772266"}”>air a new ad On Wednesday, in which actress and environmental advocate Jane Fonda talked about her experience battling oil and gas companies.
His team is making a clear bet that climate change issues will resonate with voters, while polling consistently shows that the cost of living and health care rank high on their list of concerns. He believes undecided progressives will be impressed enough by the candidate’s record on climate to vote for him.
“What’s changed is that the field has kind of dried up and people are looking for a place to land,” said Andrew Acosta, a veteran Democratic campaign consultant. He said Steyer’s recent mailer also lists fighting for single-payer health care, banning corporate PAC money and abolishing ICE. “It’s literally taking the progressive menu and ordering everything off of it,” Acosta said.
The Steyer team’s effort to recalibrate his message is also an effort to highlight his most significant record in politics. In 2012, Steyer left his hedge fund to devote himself to fighting climate change. He launched the NextGen Climate Action Committee, an advocacy group focused on supporting climate candidates, and became a frequent Democratic donor. His short-lived presidential campaign focused largely on preventing the worst effects of climate change.
Bill McKibben, an environmental activist and author who endorsed Steyer, said, “Had he been elected, there is no doubt that he would have been the most knowledgeable and committed climate advocate ever to actually hold high office in America.”
A spokesperson for the campaign, granting anonymity to discuss internal strategy, said the team considered various options for the ballot designation, but they all focused on climate. “It’s just who he is,” the spokesperson said.
Steyr is also using climate policies to differentiate itself from competitors.
When San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan proposed temporarily removing California’s gas tax in the face of rising gas prices, Steyer called for an additional profits tax on oil companies instead. And when Mahan and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa criticized the California Air Resources Board’s carbon market proposal for potentially raising gas prices and driving refineries out of the state, Steyer urged the powerful air regulator to stick with it. (They may have made the wrong decision: CARB proposed weakening its draft proposal this month.)
Steyer will likely continue to promote his climate credits to strengthen his position in the race. One Internal California Democratic Party poll","Add":{"Target": :"New","Property":(),"url": :"https://cadem.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/4.20.26-CA-Voter-Index-Tracking-Survey-II-Topline.pdf","_Identification": :"0000019d-bc51-d930-a7fd-bf59e142000a","_Type": :"33ac701a-72c1-316a-a3a5-13918cf384df"},"_Identification": :"0000019d-bc51-d930-a7fd-bf59e142000b","_Type": :"02ec1f82-5e56-3b8c-af6e-6fc7c8772266"}”>Internal California Democratic Party survey This week showed Becerra’s potential primary vote increase from 4 to 13 percent after Swalwell’s exit, putting him in a tight race with Steyer. Becerra has broken with much of the Democratic field for accepting campaign donations from oil companies including Chevron and Phillips 66.
For all the climate focus, Steyer is still careful with what he says. He told a reporter on Monday that his focus is “still on affordability.”
“When I talk about climate, I don’t talk about climate. I talk about electricity,” Steyer said. “In many issues, reducing costs is what makes smart climate work.”
Alex Nieves and Christine Mui contributed to this report.
