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Tuesday was a tough night for the cynics who like to present American politics as a rigged game operated for billionaires. From California of all places comes the refreshing reminder that money without a compelling message isn’t enough to win U.S. elections. The latest self-funding megaspender appears to have failed in his effort to buy a statewide office. Thank goodness the people still get to decide. “Appears” is a necessary qualifier because in California, vote counting can last for weeks as ill-considered rules for mailed and provisional ballots delay a decisive result. Barring a late-counting surprise, Golden State voters have wisely rejected a flawed candidate
despite his overwhelming advantage in campaign financing. Alexei Koseff reports for the San Francisco Chronicle: What can $200 million buy you? Perhaps not the California governor’s office. Despite breaking campaign spending records in the gubernatorial primary, billionaire environmentalist Tom Steyer was third in the initial results reported Tuesday
night with nearly 20%. He trails Republican Steve Hilton, a former Fox News host, who led with about 28%, and fellow Democrat Xavier Becerra, the former state attorney general and U.S. health and human services secretary, who had more than 25%. Steyer pumped his personal fortune into wooing progressive voters. His potential failure headlines a rough showing this year, up and down the primary ballot, for rich, self-funding candidates…
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