tech-backed California – San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan lost ground in California’s governor race, falling to about 4% in the primary after a tech-backed campaign and heavy independent spending. In the 17th congressional district, tech entrepreneur Ethan Agarwal trailed Rep. Ro Khanna, whi
By the time election night results settled into place on Tuesday. San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan was already running out of oxygen. In the governor’s race. he was in a distant sixth with roughly 4% of the vote as of press time—far from the Silicon Valley candidate he’d positioned himself as in a contest crowded with better-known names.
Mahan’s candidacy had been built for a particular audience. He entered the gubernatorial race in January as what supporters described as Silicon Valley’s preferred candidate. becoming a vocal opponent of a proposed statewide billionaire’s tax. His campaign leaned into a moderate platform on issues like public safety and housing. and it drew backing from prominent tech leaders including Google co-founder Sergey Brin. Palantir co-founder Joe Lonsdale. and Y Combinator CEO Garry Tan.
Tech money arrived with force. An independent expenditure committee called Back to Basics spent millions on ads. including a splashy Super Bowl commercial intended to elevate Mahan in the crowded Republican and Democratic realities of California politics. Shortly after polls closed on Tuesday. Mahan—who is also a former tech executive—conceded. saying his campaign didn’t have a path forward.
Even as Mahan’s candidacy faded, his opponents weren’t waiting. In California’s 17th House district. tech entrepreneur Ethan Agarwal found himself similarly unable to break through in a challenge to five-term incumbent Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.). Agarwal also opposed the statewide billionaire’s tax. and he criticized Khanna’s backing for a wealth tax proposal in Congress.
Tech figures backed Agarwal as well, including Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong, DoorDash cofounder Stanley Tang, and venture capitalist Ron Conway. But as of press time, Agarwal was in fourth place with 6% of the vote.
Across the state, voters also sent a message that went beyond candidates and into where they want technology to land. In Monterey Park, a first-of-its-kind ballot measure banning data centers passed with overwhelming support. The result underscored broader public concerns about the effects such projects have on local communities and the environment.
Those concerns were part of the political argument surrounding Mahan’s tech alignment. Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher. president of the California Labor Federation. told The Associated Press that Mahan’s backing from tech could have turned off voters amid backlash toward corporate power. She said. “People do not want somebody who is a puppet of these big tech billionaires. of these AI billionaires – and that’s who he has always been.”.
The California Labor Federation endorsed billionaire environmental activist Tom Steyer, former U.S. Rep. Katie Porter, and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.
Still, Tuesday’s results did not bring a total defeat for tech-backed politics. In California’s 11th congressional district, state Sen. Scott Wiener—who has received donations from tech billionaires including OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and crypto executive Chris Larsen—secured the highest percentage of votes in the primary and advanced to the final ballot this fall.
Here too, outside spending followed the candidate. Multiple tech-backed groups, including Jobs and Democracy PAC—which is linked to Anthropic—and Abundant Future PAC, supported by a number of tech leaders, spent heavily to back Wiener. That spending drew scrutiny because of his ties to the industry.
In the same race, the contrast between a tech-backed campaign and an anti-tech message played out in full. Former tech engineer and centimillionaire Saikat Chakrabarti, a vocal critic of tech executives, was defeated after Wiener’s supporters spent heavily to attack him.
And in state legislative races, the tech network pushed forward through independent structures as well. As The Guardian reported, Grow California and California Leads, two super PACs supported by the tech industry, saw their preferred candidates advance in several state legislative races.
For now, the message from California’s primaries is clear in its contradictions. Tech money and tech branding helped elevate candidates into view. but in key races it didn’t translate into dominance—while in at least one local ballot. voters moved decisively to restrict the physical footprint of data centers. Tuesday didn’t end the influence of Silicon Valley in California politics; it showed the limits of it—and the speed with which backlash can turn spending into loss.
California primaries Matt Mahan Ro Khanna Ethan Agarwal Scott Wiener tech-backed candidates billionaire’s tax data center ban Monterey Park Back to Basics Jobs and Democracy PAC Abundant Future PAC Silicon Valley politics
So the tech guys spent millions and still lost… shocking. Maybe people don’t want Silicon Valley taking over everything.
I saw that Super Bowl ad and was like ok this has to mean something but I guess not. 4% sounds low like they basically threw money in the trash. Also how is a billionaire tax even a real thing lol.
Wait Ethan Agarwal was running against Ro Khanna right? But didn’t Ro Khanna already win before. It’s all confusing because I thought tech people only do startups not politics. Maybe those companies like Coinbase funded it but people don’t trust them, idk.
Tech-backed campaigns always crack me up. Like Sergey Brin and all them drop cash and expect votes to magically appear. Then Mahan conceded right after polls closed so I’m assuming the mail-in ballots or something swung it even though they said press time. Also “Back to Basics” sounds like a slogan for like diapers or something, not elections.