Shocking six-figure sum Tom Steyer paid to Latino influencer living outside California

Progressive billionaire Tom Steyer is facing backlash over his use of paid social media influencers — and critics are now raising eyebrows over resurfaced details that one of the influencers tied to his California governor campaign was based in Texas.The Democratic candidate paid a whopping $100,000 this election cycle to Carlos Eduardo Espina, a 27-year-old Uruguayan-American activist based in Houston with more than 22 million followers.Espina, who speaks mostly in Spanish in all of his posts, has been courted by potential 2028 Democratic presidential contenders for his wide reach into Latino voters.A Pew Research Center survey last year ranked him in the top five influencers for news alongside the likes of Tucker Carlson and Joe Rogan.Steyer, with his deep pockets, has been able to acquire Espina to consult on issues related to Latinos.

Campaign records state he was paid for “strategic advice and campaign surrogacy.”The influencer has made dozens of posts and reels promoting Steyer, in many of which he is wearing a “Tom Steyer for Governor” shirt.None of the posts disclosed the $100,000 arrangement, which some argue would be required under state law.Steyer recently defended his campaign’s social media influencers usage after state election regulators opened an investigation into whether online creators failed to properly disclose sponsored political content.Kevin Liao, a spokesperson for the Steyer campaign, pushed back against the allegations in a statement to The California Post.“Consistent with state law, payments for creator content are disclosed in campaign finance reports, and we notify creators we directly work with of their disclosure requirements.

As a result, we are confident the complaint is baseless,” he said.Espina told the New York Times that he didn’t need to actually disclose anything, because the posting was being done on his own and not part of any payment.“People see me as a content creator, and they think all I do is conte...