With a businessman turned politician now in the Oval Office, a small but growing number of bankers and Wall Street financiers across the United States have set their sights on politics.
It is not the first time well-heeled candidates have entered American politics, and there are not a great number of them. But historians, political scientists and bankers say the atmosphere has changed abruptly under President Donald Trump.
His presidency has inspired others in the financial community to pursue civic duty, according to people who have studied campaigns or are involved with current election efforts.
Phil Murphy, the Democratic candidate for New Jersey governor in 2017, a former Goldman Sachs Group Inc executive who spent 23 years at the firm, is perhaps the most prominent moneyed candidate.
His campaign has focused on bolstering the middle class with proposals to create a millionaire’s tax and launch other initiatives to help low-income residents.
In Connecticut, former UBS Group AG executive Robert Stefanowski is running for governor, according to a public filing, and hedge fund manager David Stemerman recently said he may do the same.
The two Republicans have given few clues about their campaign strategies other than to cast themselves as outsiders who can fix Connecticut’s problems.
In California, two Wall Street veterans are mulling runs as progressive Democrats.
Tom Steyer, an environmentalist who worked at Goldman Sachs and was a hedge fund manager, may run for Senate or governor, a person familiar with the matter said. Joseph Sanberg, a former Tiger Global Management LLC executive, is also considering a Senate run, according to Politico. He casts himself as a “progressive entrepreneur” on his website.
Other ex-Wall Streeters who have entered politics have a mixed history, and much depends on how well their messages align with voters’ concerns, political historians said.
Reference: Reuters
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