The Contenders: Tom Steyer
We had one of our contenders, Eric Swalwell, drop out last week and very quickly another has taken his place. Tom Steyer is a billionaire who made his money by managing other people’s money. More recently, he has become a noted philanthropist and a vocal advocate for several liberal causes. He is probably most known for his self-funded campaign for the impeachment of Donald Trump.
Steyer is a Cancer by Sun sign. Depending on his time of birth, he may also have the Moon in Cancer. (Click on Tom Steyer to see a partial horoscope done for noon on his date of birth.) The fact that he is a Cancer and has Mercury and (possibly) the Moon trine Neptune indicates that Steyer's compassion for people less fortunate than himself is genuine. However, it also indicates that his goals might not always be realistic.
Steyer was born at the end of the first wave of the baby boom generation, with Pluto in Leo and Neptune in Libra. (Click here to see my generational breakdown of the candidates.) However, with the exception of Marianne Williamson, he is the only candidate from this generation who does not have a long record of public service. Steyer is famous for giving money to support liberal policies but he’s never had to make decisions regarding their implementation.
Considering all the flack Joe Biden is currently receiving for decisions he’s made in the past, this lack of experience or a record could actually help Steyer. He will have the luxury of being judged by what he would like to do rather than what he’s done. Steyer has Mars conjunct Uranus in Leo and Jupiter is square his Mercury, so this guy is no wallflower. My guess is that, if he manages to get on the debate stage, this contender will find a way to stand out in the crowd.
Right now transiting Uranus is sextile Steyer’s Sun and possibly his Moon. Uranus is also square Steyer’s natal Uranus and close to a square to his natal Mars. Uranus goes retrograde in August and it will move back and forth between all of these aspects for several months, until the Spring of 2020. These aspects are, no doubt, what stirred Steyer to make his announcement. They will also stir his liberal sentiments. We’ve already seen a dramatic move to the left among the Democratic contenders. Steyer will add to that movement.
Despite his late start, I think Steyer will make some significant noise with his campaign. However, Uranus is a fickle helpmate. It can bring disaster as easily as fantastic good fortune. The one thing you can count on with Uranus is a tendency to go to extremes. Going to Uranian extremes may help Steyer get attention in the short term, but I’m not sure if that will help him with voters in the primaries. Unless, Steyer has something else going on in his chart that I can’t see without a time birth, his campaign will likely fizzle when the primary season starts.
