Sims had served as deputy state director for Steyer in South Carolina. State party officials said Sims downloaded data about fellow candidate Kamala Harris using access he had earlier obtained while employed by the South Carolina Democratic Party.
Benjamin Gerdes, Steyer’s national press secretary, told NBC News that Sims downloaded the data in error, thinking it was Steyer’s. “He acted quickly to alert the appropriate people to rectify the matter, and the access was turned off by the party authorities.”