Democratic presidential candidate Tom Steyer announces details of NC visits
Updated Jan. 10: Events list updated with new sites and times.
Tom Steyer, the billionaire businessman turned Democratic activist who is running for president in 2020, will visit North Carolina this weekend, including Raleigh and Durham.
More presidential candidates have started paying visits to the Tar Heel State recently, as the primary election approaches. North Carolina is one of a group of states that will vote in the so-called “Super Tuesday” primary on March 3, and early voting will start on Feb. 13.
Steyer’s campaign has largely focused on climate change and environmental activism, as well as his early support for impeaching President Donald Trump. And his support in the polls has been rising.
Steyer went from being on the verge of being left out of the Democratic debate next week to being one of six candidates to qualify after he polled at 15 percent in South Carolina on Thursday. That’s ahead of every Democratic presidential candidate in South Carolina except for Joe Biden, The New York Times reported.
Tom Steyer events in North Carolina
Steyer’s events are described on his campaign website as meet-and-greets that are open to the public. Here are details, according to a campaign press release:
▪ He will be at NC Central University’s School of Law at 640 Nelson St., in Durham at 11:30 a.m. Saturday. He will then go at 1 p.m. to Durham’s McDougald Terrace public housing complex, which has been the site of carbon monoxide concerns and resident evacuations.
▪ Steyer then travels to Raleigh, for a 3 p.m. tour of the downtown Women’s Center of Wake County to talk about homelessness. He ends the day at the DoubleTree hotel at 1707 Hillsborough St., in Raleigh at 6:30 p.m. for a public Q&A.
▪ Steyer said he would travel to Goldsboro on Sunday to discuss poverty issues with the Rev. William Barber, the former NC NAACP leader who has become a national figure in liberal politics. The forum is 2 p.m. Sunday at Barber’s Greenleaf Christian Church.
Steyer spent most of his life as an investor before getting involved in Democratic politics as a donor. He started a political action committee called NextGen America in 2012.
According to The Washington Post, Steyer used that PAC to spend a combined $230 million supporting Democratic politicians in the 2014, 2016 and 2018 elections. He also has given money in his own name — including, state records show, $5,100 to Roy Cooper in the 2016 election for North Carolina governor.
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This story was originally published January 7, 2020 at 5:39 PM.
