A billionaire and Democratic donor said Tuesday he plans on shoveling $20 million into efforts to get millennials to support Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.
Tom Steyer, a former hedge fund manager with Farallon Capital, told Lawrence McDonnell on MSNBC the sizable contribution would be used to mobilize 2 million young voters in eight swing states to boost support for Clinton.
The well-heeled liberal’s overall effort, which includes help from various labor groups, is expected to total $55 million this election year.
Steyer said the efforts would be aimed toward policies targeting “economic justice, environmental justice, racial justice and good schools.” He is targeting more than 200 college campuses.
Steyer’s political group, NextGen Climate Action, announced a $25 million campaign in April to encourage young people to support and vote for green energy candidates in the November 2016 election.
NextGen has recently focused its efforts on college campuses in Pennsylvania, a swing state that could potentially determine the outcome of the November election.
The group is active on 70 college campuses in the Keystone State, and announced on Sept. 16 plans to expand to 22 others. The group told reporters it plans on using more than half of the money on campus engagement, and the other half on off-campus campaigns.
NextGen Climate justified the donation by pointing to a June 2015 poll showing 73 percent of young voters believe the U.S. should receive 50 percent of its energy from solar panels and windmills, among other renewable sources, by 2030.
Steyer’s contribution will go to For Our Future, a super PAC designed to disrupt Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump’s campaign in swing-states. He’s essentially adding $15 million to a previous pledge of $5 million.
The environmentalist, who has compared himself to David in a David and Goliath-like fight against Trump and others, said his contribution is different than those made by the Koch brothers or fellow Las Vegas billionaire Sheldon Adelson, who is dumping millions of his own money into Super PACs to help Republican political candidates.
“You are not going to change someone’s opinion about their relationship with their government and their society in a 15-second TV ad,” Steyer said.
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