To: Interested Parties

From: Heather Hargreaves, Steyer for Governor Campaign Manager

Date: May 5, 2026

Memo: The Choice for California: Unbought Leadership vs. The Corporate Status Quo

As Tom Steyer prepares to take the debate stage later today, a striking pattern is coming into focus — each wave of grassroots momentum behind his calls to take on special interests, lower costs, and build more housing is being met, almost in real time, by a surge of special interest spending to stop him. Yesterday, the California Association of Realtors PAC quietly added $2 million to the anti-Tom effort — just as people-powered endorsements, from YIMBY organizations to SEIU California, put their weight behind Steyer.

Tom Steyer is the only candidate who can challenge the corporate interests keeping prices high for working people and deliver the change California needs. His clear, detailed vision for how he’ll bring down costs for Californians — and unlike other candidates, he isn't bought and paid for by corporate interests and Trump donors — is resonating with voters. A new SurveyUSA poll released yesterday shows Tom Steyer (18%) and MAGA extremist Steve Hilton (20%) leading the race, confirming Steyer is the strongest candidate to take on Hilton in the general. This follows a CBS/YouGov poll released last week showing Tom as the leading Democratic candidate.

On tonight’s debate stage, the choice will be clear.

The Only Unbought Candidate in the Race

Tom is powered by a grassroots coalition of teachers, nurses, labor, and progressive groups like Bernie Sanders’s Our Revolution and respected climate organizations, as well as progressive leaders up and down the state.

Tom’s opponents are fueling their campaigns with money from powerful special interest groups that keep costs high for California families. 

• Career politician Xavier Becerra has a long record of prioritizing special interests over working Californians. He has accepted significant contributions from Big Oil, Big Tobacco, Big Pharma, utility monopolies, and the insurance industry for decades, and he has repeatedly failed to hold these powerful interests accountable.
• Matt Mahan has built his campaign off the support of Trump donors and Elon Musk allies. He has accepted tens of millions of dollars from Silicon Valley's most controversial corners — including crypto, defense contracting, cybersecurity, venture capital, and gaming — and is funded by MAGA Republican donors, including Google co-founder Sergey Brin, Palantir co-founder Joe Lonsdale, crypto executive David Marcus, and Lookout co-founder John Hering.
• Katie Porter has accepted maximum contributions from billionaires, Wall Street investors, and tech executives, drawing money from megadonors who got rich off of medical technology, AI, real estate, and finance. Uber gave a $150,000 contribution to her independent expenditure committee. 

As Tom has said, “I may be the only billionaire on the ballot, but I am not the only billionaire in this race.” Tom remains the only candidate who voters can trust to be responsive to them and only them. Tonight, that contrast will be clear.

Questions Xavier Becerra Must Answer: Single-Payer Lie, Chevron Check, Ties to Corruption 

Tonight, Xavier Becerra must finally give a straight answer to what he knew about his campaign’s corruption and when he knew it. Becerra’s former campaign manager faces nearly two dozen federal corruption charges and is actively discussing a plea deal, while his former chief of staff pleaded guilty to stealing $225,000 from a campaign account. Becerra’s explanation for his knowledge of these payments has shifted: in November 2025, he claimed he was aware of and authorized the payments, but just a few weeks ago he changed his tune, saying that he had “no oversight.” So which is it? Becerra must give a straight answer here. Californians can’t risk another scandal-plagued candidate, who could end up handing the governorship to Donald Trump’s handpick candidate Steve Hilton. 

While we wait to see if Becerra too will face charges, we already know that Becerra is willing to trade his principles for a campaign check:

• Just last week, KQED reported that Becerra backpedaled on his long-standing support for single-payer healthcare in a private meeting with powerful medical lobbyists whose endorsement he was seeking. After telling voters for months he would deliver for them, he told lobbyists he “wasn’t supportive of single payer.”
• Becerra also continues to cling to a maximum donation check from Chevron. When asked about it recently, he said, “You need Chevron. I need Chevron. … Chevron wants to give me a check, that’s their prerogative.” Becerra has a history of taking fossil fuel money and then doing their bidding. As Attorney General, he took contributions from Big Poll, then refused to hold them accountable for polluting California’s air and water. As Tom has said, “you cannot hold Big Oil accountable while cashing their checks.”

A Vision for a Fairer California, Starting with Taxing Billionaires Like Himself

Tom has a plan to tax billionaires and close corporate tax loopholes in order to fund housing, education, and healthcare Californians can afford. It’s clear corporate special interests have no interest in changing the status quo – because it allows them to turn a profit at the expense of working Californians. Steyer has a plan to crack down on corruption in Sacramento, ensure AI benefits working Californians, build housing that Californians can afford, and make polluters pay for their pollution of our air and water. 

With Election Day approaching and more voters tuning in, the choice is clear: more of the same corporate-controlled politics or a governor who answers only to the people. Only Tom Steyer will deliver the change working Californians deserve — and that’s why he’s proud to have the support of progressive organizations advocating for labor rights and housing — and remains a top target of corporate special interests.

###