The two both have name recognition, says Christian Grose, a professor of political science at the University of Southern California. Of all the candidates in the race, Steyer has spent the most funds on campaign ads—he has dished out about $89 million on more than 1 million ad airings, as of Thursday, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
“If you live in California, you have probably seen his ads,” Grose says.
“It’s so fluid,” Grose says of the state of the race. “It’s hard to say” which of the two could become the Democratic favorite, he continues, but, “If I had to guess, perhaps Steyer, just because he does have so much money.” He adds, though, that voters tend to “distrust” candidates “who spend a lot of their own money on campaigns,” which could work against Steyer.
