Billionaire Democrat Tom Steyer courts black men in SC stop
Many of the more than a dozen men who sat inside a Columbia community center on Monday said the chance to meet Tom Steyer was their first foray into presidential politics — and politics altogether — and their first time speaking publicly about the problems they face in their community as black men.
Racism. A lack of resources, from money to educational opportunities. A prison system that does little to help them re-enter society.
In Tom Steyer, they said, they found a listener.
“A lot of you say, ‘Why do rich men not come to the hood to talk to you?’ ” said Jason Belton, a founder of a community group called Vision Walkers, who helped to introduce billionaire Steyer Monday at Pacific Park. “Well, here you are.”
In his sixth visit to the state, Steyer courted black male voters, part of the powerful African American voting bloc making up two-thirds of the South Carolina Democratic Party electorate, expected to vote in the state’s Feb. 29 presidential primary.
The outreach by the former hedge fund manager out of California was similar to a sit-down Cory Booker made a week ago, when the New Jersey U.S. senator met with 30 black men at his headquarters on Taylor Street.
Steyer told the men he supports slavery reparations. He said he planned to put “an enormous amount of money” into historically black colleges. He said he supports the legalization of medical and recreational marijuana and the retraining of police officers.
“We have incarcerated people at a level that is not comparable in human history,” Steyer said Monday, “and it’s been specifically focused on the African American community.”
Those declarations were enough to get 26-year-old Deaundre Rose’s endorsement.
“He definitely has my support and my vote,” said Rose, of Camden, who drove from Rock Hill to meet Steyer. “I can tell that he actually cares about the people and about building the country up. I’m excited. This is the man. This is the man with the plan.”
Since the launch of his “Need to Impeach” campaign against President Donald Trump last year, Steyer has become more of a known commodity in South Carolina, in many respects, thanks to his wealth which has helped him dump millions into TV and digital ads.
That not only has boosted his name ID in the state, but has also given him a recent bump in the polls.
A new YouGov poll out Monday said Steyer has 7% support among South Carolina Democratic voters and 10% support among black S.C. Democrats, trailing in fifth place overall and third place among the key Democratic electorate. The poll also showed Steyer way behind front-runner Joe Biden. The former vice president polled with 54% support among black voters, and 40% overall among Democrats.
That Steyer is polling better with black voters than other known candidates wasn’t a surprise to his backers, they said.
“He’s more concerned about the people that are looked over in society,” said Alonzo Canzater, 34, Columbia, who said he is working for Steyer’s campaign as a community organizer. “He’s a listener. He’s friendly. He’s not uptight, like Hollywood. You want somebody like that that can relate to the people and care about the people.”
This story was originally published December 10, 2019 at 5:00 AM with the headline "Billionaire Democrat Tom Steyer courts black men in SC stop."
