(CNN) Businessman Tom Steyer struck at former Vice President Joe Biden and former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg in a new ad launched Thursday, the first explicitly negative ad his campaign has aired against his Democratic presidential rivals. Steyer has spent more than $170 million on advertising during his campaign, powered by his personal fortune of roughly $1.6 billion. Steyer's aggressive ad spending -- dwarfing the entire Democratic field's spending combined, excluding Steyer's fellow billionaire, Michael Bloomberg -- has prompted sharp criticism from his rivals. Steyer has responded to the criticism, saying he's less well known than his rivals and needs to get his message out. I don't think there's a limit to how much I care about this," he told reporters in California last November.

Source: CNN February 07, 2020 01:41 UTC