California businessman Tom Steyer spent more than $1,600 for each vote he received in Democrats’ first four presidential nominating contests. Steyer withdrew from the race over the weekend after spending more than $250 million, most of it his own money, on the ill-fated bid for the Democratic nod. On a per-vote basis, that total, which does not include money spent by Steyer in February, breaks down to $1,668.85 for every vote he received in the Iowa and Nevada caucuses and the New Hampshire and South Carolina primaries. When votes in the second rounds of the Iowa and Nevada contests are excluded, the per-vote total rises to $1,720.13. Steyer’s campaign reported raising more than $271 million through the end of January, the vast majority of which came from Steyer himself. The candidate donated a total nearly $260 million to his own campaign, and loaned it another $7.5 million.
Though his considerable personal fortune allowed him to advertise heavily amid a field of more well-known Democratic politicians, former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s entry into the race meant Steyer was forced to compete with an even wealthier billionaire, who nearly doubled Steyer’s personal campaign donations in about half the time.
