Tom Steyer Drops Out of 2020 Presidential Race

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Tom Steyer, the billionaire former hedge-fund executive whose prolific campaign spending altered the Democratic primary and allowed him to persist in the race, withdrew following a loss Saturday night in South Carolina.

Speaking to supporters here, Mr. Steyer announced he was ending his long shot presidential bid, but promised to continue working on issues that are of great importance to him — environmental and economic injustice.

“We live in a country that is deeply unjust economically where rich people have been profiting at the expense of everybody else,” Mr. Steyer said, his voice cracking at times. “And I didn’t get in this race and start talking about things to get votes. I was in this race to talk about things that I cared the most about.”

Mr. Steyer, 62, had failed to capitalize on his investment of millions of dollars in South Carolina, where he had pinned the hopes of his campaign. Despite spending more than $191 million on advertising nationally, Mr. Steyer did not earn any national pledged delegates in Iowa, New Hampshire or Nevada, making South Carolina something of a make-or-break state for his continued viability. With 80 percent of the votes counted here, Mr. Steyer had garnered less than 12 percent of the vote, although he told supporters he might pick up one or two delegates. Read more at NY Times