Tom Steyer, Billionaire Impeachment Activist, Won't Run Against Trump

Steyer’s decision came as a surprise even to some of his political confidants. He had made deliberate preparations in recent months to seek the White House, running television ads in the early primary states, recruiting potential staff members and even designating a campaign manager for a possible run.

But Steyer began informing aides early this week he would not be a candidate after all, after concluding that he could have a greater political impact through his impeachment activism, several advisers to Steyer said. Steyer intends to spend at least $40 million on impeachment efforts in the coming year — money that might otherwise have been directed toward a campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination.

“Most people come to Iowa around this time to announce a campaign for president,” Steyer said in prepared remarks in the state. “But I am proud to be here to announce that I will do whatever it takes, for as long as it takes, to remove a president.”

Steyer, 61, left himself some wiggle room to change his mind on 2020, saying he had decided against running “at this time.”

In some respects, the Democratic primary landscape appeared inviting for a candidate like Steyer, with his sterling credentials as a Trump antagonist and a virtually bottomless well of money to spend on advertising. He has been one of the Democratic Party’s most prolific donors, eclipsed in 2018 only by Michael Bloomberg, the former New York City mayor who is considering a presidential campaign of his own.

Yet amid his preparations, there were warning signs for Steyer, too. As a candidate, he would have faced new levels of scrutiny of his business record: Steyer made his vast fortune as the founder of a hedge fund, and his portfolio of investments included considerable stakes in fossil fuel companies.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.