‘He Thinks You’re Stupid’: Leftwing Democrats Take Gloves Off In Fight Against Billionaire Tom Steyer
San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan escalated his attacks on fellow Democrat gubernatorial candidate Tom Steyer on Wednesday, accusing the billionaire former hedge fund manager of attempting to use his wealth to buy the California governor’s office despite a record that Mahan argued conflicts with Steyer’s current political message.
Appearing on the Really American podcast, host Steve Harness asked Mahan whether Steyer was “trying to paint himself as the big progressive” and whether “he think[s] we’re all stupid.”
Mahan responded, “I am not buying it. Tom Steyer thinks you’re stupid. I mean, this is a guy who has just spent $120 million trying to buy the governor’s office after he failed to buy the presidency, spending $200 million in that endeavor. This is a guy who made his fortune investing in private prisons, ICE detention centers, oil, gas, and coal companies, and now is trying to claim that it’s a mistake.
He’s seen the light now that he’s made his billions of dollars. He’s spending a lot of money trying to convince you that he’s going to get rid of the oil and gas companies that he made his money investing in, or that he’s going to get rid of the cages that he literally funded to build. You know, Californians deserve a governor whose record matches their rhetoric. That’s me.”
Recent polling has shown Republican Steve Hilton leading the field with 19 percent, followed by Steyer with 13 percent. Democrat Eric Swalwell and Republican Chad Bianco each stood at 11 percent, while Democrat Katie Porter also had 11 percent. Swalwell suspended his gubernatorial campaign on April 12 after being accused of sexual assault and rape. Mahan was polling at three percent, with 17 percent of voters undecided.
Steyer entered the governor’s race in November after spending more than $252 million of his own money on his failed 2020 presidential campaign. He launched his gubernatorial bid by declaring that “Californians deserve a life they can afford” and promising to overhaul the state’s cost of living, energy market, and housing supply. In his announcement, Steyer said, “Sacramento politicians are afraid to change this system. I’m not,” while portraying himself as a disruptor seeking to break what he described as corporate influence over California’s government.
Mahan’s attack comes as Steyer unveiled an immigration platform calling for California to abolish ICE operations in the state, prosecute ICE agents and supervisors under state law, create a special attorney general unit to investigate federal immigration officers, use state funds to return deported individuals to California, and launch a statewide “Know Your Rights” campaign. Steyer said California should “take matters into our own hands,” pledged to “bring those detained and kidnapped by ICE back home,” and defended the plan on social media by writing, “‘Wow’ is right. ICE is a criminal organization. As governor, I’ll prosecute them like one.”
In recent interviews, Mahan has argued that California’s high gas prices are driven not only by world events but also by state policies, including high gas taxes, regulations, and “the fact that we pushed all of our refineries out of state,” saying, “We could give working people relief immediately by reducing our highest-in-the-nation gas taxes.” Mahan has also criticized Gov. Gavin Newsom’s record, giving him “probably” a “C range” grade and arguing that California has moved too slowly on housing affordability, public safety, homelessness, and energy costs, adding, “We don’t need more of the same. We also don’t need more MAGA.”
