Billionaire Tom Steyer launches $100 million assault on GOP climate 'deniers'
Michel Porro/Getty Images
Billionaire hedge fund manager and environmentalist Tom Steyer's super PAC is planning to spend close to $100 million this year in a bid to unseat Republicans around the country who they say "deny reality" on climate change. The group plans to dump millions on Senate races in New Hampshire, Iowa, Colorado, and Michigan, and on gubernatorial races in Pennsylvania, Florida, and Maine. All three gubernatorial contests feature already-vulnerable incumbent Republicans.
Steyer has said he'll spend $50 million of his own money in the campaign. But whether the massive investment will pay dividends — polls have found Americans lukewarm to the issue of climate change, despite all the dire warnings — is unpredictable, especially if Republicans can effectively mobilize a counter-narrative claiming Dems are hurting the economy.
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