By Mita Kataria
BU News Service
Manchester, N.H. — 2020 presidential candidate Tom Steyer spent the day campaigning in Reno, Nevada, Tuesday as the New Hampshire primaries results placed him in the bottom half of the Democratic candidates.
Like former Vice President Joe Biden, Steyer also left New Hampshire, but has made his way to Nevada by Tuesday. Biden headed to South Carolina.
At the Steyer campaign election watch party, the mood was far from somber. Volunteers, supporters and campaign staffers echoed a growing optimism: looking forward to the primaries in states like Nevada and South Carolina.
“We are committed to the task and are in it to win it,” Keith Barnish, the New Hampshire deputy state director of the Steyer campaign, said.
Barnish believes they have good momentum and looks forward to taking it to the upcoming caucuses in Nevada and further. According to Barnish, Steyer’s policies on climate change and his economic policies of wealth tax and tax cuts for 95% of Americans strengthen his candidacy.
Barnish said Steyer didn’t stay in New Hampshire because he had already put in the work. He had been on the ground in New Hampshire interacting with voters and talking about his policies.
“We have a lot of ground to cover in the other states, and the decision to go there had more to do with time and resources,” Barnish said.
Richard Thompson of Hampton feels that Steyer will have a better chance in North and South Carolina.
“Those states are more diverse and their results will be more indicative of the country,” he said.
Todd Campbell of Durham, New Hampshire, said that he supported Steyer because of his comprehensive tax reform plan. He also noted that Steyer’s performance in the last Democratic debate was strong as he had a plan to “beat Trump on the economy.”
“He was the only one who said that they should all get together and beat Trump,” he added.
Another Steyer supporter, Bob Simoneau, however, was disappointed with the lack of appreciation and attention given to Steyer by the media.
“He’d be doing a lot better if they gave him the exposure a reasonable candidate deserves,” Simoneau said.
