California gubernatorial hopeful Tom Steyer is bringing in operatives who helped propel socialist Zohran Mamdani to New York City’s mayoralty, according to a report.
Steyer, the former hedge fund manager and prominent Democratic donor who waged a failed bid for the party’s nomination for president in 2020, is using the services of Fight Agency, a far-left political consultancy.
The firm is run by veterans of prior campaigns including those of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) and Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.).
Rebecca Katz, a partner at the firm, once ran the late Sen. Harry Reid’s (D-Nev.) war room in the US Senate. She also helped guide communications strategy for Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor.
In recent cycles, she was credited with helping engineer Fetterman’s 2022 Senate victory in Pennsylvania and Gallego’s 2024 Senate win in Arizona — two of the party’s strongest battleground over-performances.
Katz acknowledged she was initially wary of signing on with Steyer, given the firm’s stated focus on elevating working-class candidates.
“When we started Fight, our goal was to get more working-class candidates elected. He is not from the working class. I underestimated him, and I didn’t think he got it,” she told the news site The Bulwark.
Katz said she ultimately reversed course after hearing Steyer’s pitch on California’s economic challenges and his proposed remedies.
“Is he similar to some of our other clients? No, he is not. But does he understand the problem, and does he have real solutions? One hundred f—king percent,” she said.
Katz said that Steyer is “as clear-eyed on the problems and challenges we have in America — and California in particular — [as] anyone out there.”
Steyer’s platform echoes the populist, anti-corporate themes Fight Agency has championed in past insurgent campaigns, including those for Sanders, Fetterman and Mamdani.
He has proposed closing corporate tax loopholes to fund public schools, building 1 million new homes to address the housing crisis, breaking up utility monopolies to lower electricity rates and banning corporate PAC money in state elections.
Other partners in the firm have helped lift Democrat upstarts in high-profile races.
Tommy McDonald, a co-founder of Fight Agency, has worked on more than 200 campaigns across 30 states, including serving as lead paid media consultant on Fetterman’s Senate race.
His résumé also includes media work tied to Sanders’ presidential bid and independent candidate Dan Osborn’s Senate run in Nebraska, as well as multiple House and statewide contests.
Julian Mulvey, another co-founder, was dubbed one of the “architects” of Sanders’ 2016 presidential campaign and later produced ads for Biden and the Democratic National Committee in 2020.
Morris Katz, who served as lead media strategist on Mamdani’s mayoral campaign, also advised Osborn’s independent Senate bid and has worked on a range of insurgent and Working Families Party-backed efforts.
Fight Agency has also signed on with Graham Platner, the left-wing Democrat looking to beat Maine Gov. Janet Mills for the party’s nomination. Both Mills and Platner are seeking to unseat incumbent Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine).
While details of the scope of its work on Platner’s campaign have not been publicly detailed, the firm lists him among the clients it has taken on since launching in January of last year as part of its effort to back candidates it views as willing to wage “tough battles” against the political establishment.
The Post has sought comment from Steyer and Fight Agency.
Steyer faces a crowded Democratic field in the 2026 gubernatorial contest, including several statewide officeholders and veteran party figures such as Katie Porter, Xavier Becerra, Eric Swalwell, Tony Thurmond, Betty Yee, and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.
His early $27 million self-funded blitz has allowed him to outspend rivals by a wide margin.
