Tom Steyer Says He Is ‘Putting Together A Coalition’ To Defeat Donald Trump

Democratic Party presidential candidate Tom Steyer has outspent every other White House hopeful — save for fellow billionaire Michael Bloomberg — but his strategy has not yielded results. Steyer did not win a single delegate in Iowa or New Hampshire.

With the Nevada caucuses around the corner, Steyer is already turning his attention to South Carolina, where he claims to have built a formidable and diverse coalition of voters. Per The Hill, in an interview with ABC broadcast on Sunday, the billionaire discussed his electoral prospects in the Palmetto State and beyond.

In South Carolina, Steyer said, he is “putting together a coalition of people, including specifically African Americans and Latinos, who are responding to a message that is inclusive.”

According to Steyer, whether he wins the nomination or not, the Democratic Party needs a diverse, multi-racial coalition to defeat President Donald Trump in November.

“And I’m putting together the kind of coalition that we’re going to have to have in November 2020 to beat Donald Trump.”

ABC’s Martha Raddatz pointed out that Steyer’s efforts appear to be in vain, given that he is far behind former Vice President Joe Biden in South Carolina polling and barely registering in nationwide polls.

Steyer conceded that he needs a “great result” in South Carolina in order for the public to perceive him as a formidable contender. If he manages to do well in the first-in-the-South primary state, the billionaire continued, he will have the momentum necessary to perform well on Super Tuesday.

“If I can show there that I can put together a coalition and take that with momentum into Super Tuesday with the kind of diverse coalition that I believe I’m building and I believe I will show, then that will give me the momentum and people will have to look at me as a serious candidate,” he said.

As The Hill notes, Steyer spent $16.4 million on advertisements in Iowa, only to finish with zero percent of the vote. In the Granite State, the billionaire spent $19.8 million on adds, receiving only 4 percent of the vote.

Having finished fourth in Iowa and fifth in New Hampshire — after polling as the national front-runner for a year — Biden is now in danger of losing his South Carolina firewall. According to reports, both Steyer and Independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont have good ground games in the state.

Steyer and Sanders are reportedly winning support from local officials and activists, many of whom appear uncertain that Biden can win the nomination, let alone beat Trump. According to latest polling, Biden’s once-formidable South Carolina lead is starting to decrease, with Sanders trailing him by eight points.