Steyer on CNN Last Night: "Is California for Californians? Or is California to be Run By Corporations?”

Last night, analysts called Steyer's closing message "strong" – a stark contrast with Becerra

SAN FRANCISCO — Election Day is here and Tom Steyer is leaving it all on the field. Last night, he joined CNN's Elex Michaelson for an 11-minute interview covering single-payer healthcare, housing, taking on the utility monopolies, and the stakes for California voters.

The sharpest moment came as a direct contrast with Xavier Becerra, who appeared on the same show and could not name a single policy plan. Michaelson put the same question to Steyer:

Michaelson: Xavier Becerra went on this show for about 2.5 minutes and he did not name a specific policy he would change. So let me ask you that same question — what is a specific policy that you would change?

Steyer: Can I go through a few? We will break the monopoly power of the electric monopolies and reduce electric costs by 25%. We will push for single payer healthcare starting on day one. On day one I will call a special election to close a corporate tax loophole worth over $20 billion to the state of California. We're going to build a million houses. The majority of Californians can't make ends meet — and corporate special interests are driving up their costs. They've heard me say it, and they've spent tens of millions of dollars to stop me.

On Steve Hilton, Steyer didn't mince words:

"Steve Hilton's ideas are Donald Trump's ideas. He is not a serious candidate. He's supported by a president who has basically declared war on California."

And Steyer ended the interview with even more contrast with Becerra. 

"We have a billionaire who's fighting for working people every day, and we have a career politician who's standing up for corporations and billionaires. It's ironic."

The analyst praise was immediate – with Steyer standing out as the strongest interview of every candidate who sat down with Michaelson. 

Elex Michaelson: I was struck, frankly, by how strong Tom Steyer was — especially compared to maybe other interviews that we've seen. When Xavier Becerra was on our show and I asked him, "What's one policy that you would change?" he didn't come up with anything. Tom Steyer came ready with lots of policies. That's a radically different California.

Ian Calderon: I thought Tom was actually really good tonight. He understands that right now is the moment to leave it all on the table.

Watch the entire interview here. 

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