Tom Steyer To Spend Millions Backing Andrew Gillum In Florida
Source: New York Times
By Alexander Burns, 1 hr. ago.
Tom Steyer, the billionaire investor and Democratic activist, has directed his political operation to spend more than $5 million aiding Andrew Gillum's campaign for governor of Florida, an enormous investment that will test whether fired-up Democratic voters can flip control of a state long dominated by Republicans.
The campaign between Mr. Gillum, who is the progressive mayor of Tallahassee, and Representative Ron DeSantis, a conservative lawmaker who has aligned himself closely with the White House, has become one of the clearest contests of strength nationwide between the Democratic Party's rising liberal wing and the Republican Party as President Trump has reshaped it.
Mr. Steyer, who is based in California and has crusaded since last year for Mr. Trump's impeachment, said in an interview that he would spend more money in Florida this fall than any other state. He endorsed Mr. Gillum, 39, in the Democratic primary, and hailed him as a model for the national Democratic Party. In the interview, Mr. Steyer praised Mr. Gillum for having endorsed impeachment, though he said that had not been a "litmus test" for his support.
"He's a fierce gun control person, he's been a climate champion," Mr. Steyer said of Mr. Gillum, adding: "He's called for the impeachment of the president. He's been willing to talk plainly to Florida voters, and they've responded."...More...
Read more: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/tom-steyer-to-spend-millions-backing-andrew-gillum-in-florida/ar-AAADJqb?li=BBnb7Kz
Mr. Steyer said his spending in the state would target mobilizing young people and minorities to vote, rather than courting undecided voters in the political center, whose existence he said he questioned.
Mr. Gillum has held a slim lead over Mr. DeSantis in polls since the Fla. primary last month, and Mr. DeSantis has struggled to move past a series of racial controversies.
The morning after the August 28 primary, Mr. DeSantis warned on Fox News that Floridians should not "monkey this up" by electing a liberal like Mr. Gillum. After calls of racism he described it as an inept turn of phrase.
Fla. has not elected a Democratic governor this century, and Mr. Trump remains more popular there than in the country as a whole. Mr. DeSantis has benefited from a large amount of funding by national Republican committees.
Andrew Gillum, Mayor of Tallahassee, Fla. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Gillum
= new reply since forum marked as read
I remember various analyses about Ham Rove and his terrible return on investment from his PAC -
By Joe Garofoli on November 9, 2012 at 1:25 PM
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Or, as Donald Trump tweeted: “Congrats to @KarlRove on blowing $400 million this cycle. Every race @CrossroadsGPS ran ads in, the Republicans lost. What a waste of money.”
Here are the organizations with the best ROI:
1. SEIU: 84 percent of $15,202,306.
2. SEIU COPE (SERVICE EMPLOYEES INTERNATIONAL UNION COMMITTEE ON POLITICAL EDUCATION): 70 percent of $14,318,192 spent.
3. MAJORITY PAC 69 percent of $34,359,657 spent.
4. WOMEN VOTE! 69% of $6,072,693 spent.
The organizations with the worst ROI:
1. NATIONAL RIFLE ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA POLITICAL VICTORY FUND: 0 percent of $10,955,688 spent.
2.AMERICAN CROSSROADS: 1 percent of $103,559,672. (However, Rove’s Crossroads GPS had a 13 percent ROI)
3. US CHAMBER OF COMMERCE: 5 percent of $31,937,037 spent.
4. AMERICAN FUTURE FUND: 5 percent of $23,613,532 spent.
What did Rove do with all that cash? For starters he spent $127 million on more than 82,000 TV ads for Mitt Romney, according to Kantar Media’s CMAG, which tracks advertising. Rove says that President Obama won because he was “suppressing the vote” — i.e. Romney’s vote — with negative ads. Again, Karl seems to be working with a set of fact not based in this universe.
https://blog.timesunion.com/politicssource/giving-to-karl-rove-a-terrible-return-on-investment/2843/
Apparently the Kochs have shifted their priorities to something different from the current Drumpf agenda.
I am grateful to everyone who donates to Dems, whether $1 or $1,000,000. 
