Billionaire Democrat Tom Steyer is making his final pitch to California voters ahead of the June 2 governor primary — but an unlisted version of his latest campaign ad was riddled with stock-photo watermarks.
Steyer rolled out a glossy new television spot “Together” that’s part of his “closing argument” to voters. But a YouTube upload of the ad that was blasted out to members of the media included markers of the stock video seller “Filmsupply,” suggesting a draft version was rushed out by mistake.
In the ad, Steyer says over sweeping music: “This campaign is about representing people who aren’t represented because it’s not in the interest of the politician to do it,” adding that his “only interest is sticking up for working people in California.”
“And honestly,” he continues, “that’s why these people are spending tens of millions of dollars against me.”
In the unlisted upload, watermarks are seen splashed across shots of Steyer speaking on a television screen and the backside of a man wearing a white tank top, also watching television.
Steyer, a hedge fund titan turned progressive populist, has plowed more then $190 million of his personal fortune into his campaign and spent more than $115 million on ads for broadcast TV, cable and radio, according to AdImpact.
The onetime ruthless businessman has rebranded himself as a “class traitor” hell-bent on taxinig billionaires and wealthy corporations while lowering costs for regular Californians.
Steyer was hammered this week for allegedly paying thousands to social media influencers who didn’t clearly disclose the payments.
That included a whopping $100,000 to Carlos Eduardo Espina, a Uruguayan American influencer with 22 million followers who is based in Texas, per the the New York Times reported; and $10,000 to Isaiah Washington, who nuked his Instagram account after being slapped with a Fair Political Practices Commission complaint.
Steyer defended himself in a lengthy post on X Tuesday, saying he compensates creators fairly and has never paid for endorsements.
“Our campaign believes in transparency; it’s central to how we’ve operated since day one. Every dollar spent by this campaign is publicly disclosed and available for anyone to see,” Steyer wrote.
The billionaire’s attorney then accused Becerra of also improperly paying influencers without making any paid relationships clear.
Recent polls show Steyer a few points behind Democratic frontrunner Xavier Becerra and Republican Steve Hilton.
