Steyer Aide Apologizes for 'Miscommunication' on Endorsement Solicitation

Stephanie Saul

November 7, 2019 11:28 PM

Tom Steyer’s presidential campaign apologized Thursday for “any miscommunication” it might have conveyed following a report that a top aide had privately offered campaign contributions to local candidates who would endorse Steyer.

Steyer Aide Apologizes for 'Miscommunication' on Endorsement Solicitation

The report by The Associated Press quoted one candidate for the Iowa state Senate, Tom Courtney, as saying he had “a bad taste in my mouth” after he was approached by the aide, Pat Murphy, a former Iowa House Speaker.

Reached by telephone, Courtney, from Burlington, Iowa, declined to comment on the report.

The AP article, which said that other candidates for state office had been offered similar deals, prompted swift denunciation from two of Steyer’s rivals in the race for the Democratic nomination.

Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey tweeted a link to the article, writing, “This ain’t it.”

And Gov. Steve Bullock of Montana tweeted: “You buy your way to the debate stage. You try to buy your endorsements. @TomSteyer, we won’t be bought.”

In a statement, the Steyer campaign denied it had made contributions to Iowa politicians as inducements for them to endorse him.

“Tom has not made any individual contributions to candidates in Iowa this year, and he will not be making any contributions,” the statement said, adding: “Our campaign policy is clear that we will not engage in this kind of activity, and anyone who does is not speaking for the campaign or does not know our policy.”

But the news release also included a statement from Murphy offering an apology for any misunderstanding.

“As a former legislator, I know how tricky the endorsement process can be for folks in Iowa. It was never my intention to make my former colleagues uncomfortable, and I apologize for any miscommunication on my part,” he said.

The controversy was the second this week for Steyer’s campaign. His South Carolina director resigned Monday after allegations that he stole volunteer data collected by the campaign of Sen. Kamala Harris of California. He downloaded the information by using an account obtained when he worked with the South Carolina Democratic Party. The Steyer campaign suggested the download was inadvertent.

Steyer, a Californian who made his fortune in the hedge fund industry, has said he has $100 million to spend on his campaign. But only three months before the pivotal Iowa caucuses, he remains in single digits in polls there.

It was not clear whether Steyer’s groups — NextGen America, For Our Future or Need to Impeach — had supported any Iowa candidates this year.

This article originally appeared in

Stephanie Saul