Steyer targets utility costs in gubernatorial campaign

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(The Center Square) – Tom Steyer, the billionaire who financed a successful campaign to pass congressional redistricting in California and is now running for governor, is targeting utility costs in new television commercials and posts on X.

His campaign is part of a race with a large number of candidates, with almost half of voters in recent polling undecided.

Commercials featuring Steyer, who announced his candidacy in November, are running on California TV stations and on X. In the commercial, which is a parody of the 2003 "Love, Actually" movie, the Democrat doesn’t say a word as he rings a doorbell at a couple's home and plays Christmas music on a boom box. Instead, he holds up signs as he lists all the problems with California, including high utility costs. He promises to fix them.

Steyer expressed more criticism of utility costs in a different post Monday on X

“Californians pay about TWICE as much for electricity as the national average,” Steyer wrote. “The answer is to end utility monopolies. By introducing competition, we're going to lower prices and improve services.” 

His text is accompanied by a video of him talking and holding a letter he sent to the California Public Utilities Commission about his input before a hearing Thursday. He said he is asking the panel to make utility companies accept a lower rate of return on investments. He said that would reduce consumers' prices.

Steyer, who made his money by starting a San Francisco hedge fund, had a short-lived campaign for president in 2020. He’s never held a public office.

Steyer is one of eight Democrats running for the open gubernatorial seat. Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat who’s a vocal critic of Republican President Donald Trump, will be termed out in 2026, but is widely expected to run for the White House in 2028.

Besides Steyer, Democrats running are former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, former State Controller Betty Yee, Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond, former Assembly Majority Leader Ian Calderon, former U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra and former U.S. Rep. Katie Porter of Orange County. In November, U.S. Rep. Eric Swalwell, who represents the eastern San Francisco Bay Area, announced his candidacy. Swalwell received an endorsement from billionaire Stephen Cloobeck on Dec. 1 when Cloobeck dropped out the race. Cloobeck is the founder and former chairman of timeshare company Diamond Resorts.

There are two Republicans running for governor: Fox News contributor Steve Hilton, who was an adviser for former conservative British Prime Minister David Cameron, and pro-Trump Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco.

A University of California, Berkeley poll on Nov. 7 shows 44% of voters are undecided. Bianco and Porter are virtually neck-to-neck as the candidates with most support, but they're only getting the backing of 13% and 11% respectively of the voters surveyed, according to the university's Institute of Government Studies.

Under California law, the top two vote getters in the June 2, 2026 primary will advance to the Nov. 3, 2026 general election, regardless of party affiliation.