- Billionaire former hedge fund manager and liberal activist Tom Steyer dropped out of the 2020 Democratic primary after a disappointing finish in the February 29 South Carolina primary.
- Despite spending $150 million on ads in early states and $253 million on his campaign in total, Steyer failed to earn any delegates at all or break more than 4% of the vote in Iowa, New Hampshire, or Nevada.
- Steyer also failed to meet the 15% minimum threshold to earn statewide delegates in South Carolina.
- Joe Biden emerged victorious from South Carolina
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Billionaire former hedge fund manager and liberal activist Tom Steyer dropped out of the 2020 Democratic primary after a disappointing finish in the February 29 South Carolina primary.
Steyer quit the race after coming in third place in South Carolina with about 11% of the vote, failing to meet the 15% minimum threshold to earn statewide delegates.
Steyer, who is worth an estimated $1.6 billion, had spent $253.7 million, or over a quarter of a billion dollars of his own fortune on his presidential campaign in total through the end of January, NBC reported.
In a speech to supporters in Columbia, South Carolina announcing his plans to drop out of the race, Steyer said: “There’s no question today that this campaign, we were disappointed with where we came out…I said that if I didn’t see a path to winning, I would suspend my campaign.”
But he still maintained a hopeful message, saying: "When the Lord closes a door, he opens a window. I will find that window and crawl through it with you, I promise you that. This has been a great experience, I have zero regrets."
JUST IN: Pledging to continue to work on issues of racial injustice and climate change, Tom Steyer announces he is dropping out of the 2020 race: "Honestly, I can't see a path where I can win the presidency." https://t.co/lFofELDZ6O pic.twitter.com/z32KjnkmjM
— ABC News (@ABC) March 1, 2020
LIVE UPDATES: Follow the rest of the results of today's South Carolina primaries
Steyer, who entered the race in July 2019, founded two organizations to advance Democratic causes: Need To Impeach, which is advocating for Congress to begin impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump, and NextGen America, a group combatting climate change and backing political candidates who support strong climate action.
In a video announcing his candidacy, Steyer denounced the role of corporate money in politics, saying "we've got to take the corporate control out of our politics... We care about improving the world and handing it on to the next generation in a way so they can lead better lives than we've had. If we don't do those two things, shame on us."
In January 2019, Steyer said he did not plan to run for president and would be "dedicating 100% of my time and effort in 2019 towards Mr. Trump's impeachment and removal from office," but changed his mind several months later.
Sources close to him also told The Atlantic that Steyer, who is 62 and based in San Francisco, thought that a longshot presidential bid could be his only chance to run for political office.
Another person close to Steyer similarly told The Washington Post that Steyer didn't feel completely confident in the field of Democrats seeking the 2020 nomination and thought his successful record as a businessman can give him an edge in the field.
But Steyer ultimately failed to carve out a unique niche for himself in the race and earn much traction. While he positioned himself as a progressive, he was squeezed out of that lane of the primary by Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, who both ran on a platform of curtailing the economic and political power of billionaires like him.
Despite going all-in on early states and spending $150 million on ads, Steyer failed to earn any delegates at all or break more than 4% of the vote in either Iowa, New Hampshire, or Nevada as Sanders and Buttigieg largely dominated the first three contests.
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LIVE UPDATES: Biden winning South Carolina primary, follow the vote and results as they come in
Joe Biden wins the South Carolina primary, his first-ever victory in his three presidential runs