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How Will Tech Money Influence the California’s Governor’s Race (Technology Policy Brief #163)

Mar 10, 2026 | Technology

Technology Brief | Mindy Spatt | March 10, 2026

Tech billionaires are spending at historic levels to influence politics in California.  Google and Facebook, and their  CEO’s, are donating heavily to key races in November 2026, as are venture capitalists, cryptocurrency entrepreneurs, and Palantir’s co-founders. Whether or not the candidates they are backing win, they will have an impact.

Analysis

California Governor Gavin Newsom, who is well-known as friendly with tech billionaires both personally and politically, has been a reliable veto for any legislation that Silicon Valley doesn’t like.  With Newsom termed out and eyeing the White House, his billionaire friends will need a new ally in Sacramento. Looking amongst their own, the industry has settled on a popular mayor from San Jose, Matt Mahan.

While an undergraduate at Harvard, Mark Zuckerberg was Mayor Mahan’s classmate.  Before running for office in San Jose, Mahan worked in the tech sector.  In 2014, he co-founded a startup with billionaire financier Ron Conway and Salesforce CEO Mark Benioff.

In the crowded California Governor’s primary race, Mahan’s entry further divides a ballot that was already crammed with democratic candidates.  It includes Representative Eric Swalwell, former Representative Katie Porter, self-funded billionaire Tom Steyer, former Los Angeles mayor Antonio Villariagosa, Superintendent of Education Tony Thurmond, and former State Controller Betty Yee.   .

The fractured democratic field creates a threat that democrats could lose the state altogether.  The top two candidates in the June primary will be the only ones to appear on the ballot in November, regardless of party.  The two Republicans in the race normally wouldn’t stand a chance in reliably blue California; a two-democrat race is more likely.  But with 8 Democrats vying for democratic voters, the two Republicans could each end up with more votes than any single Democratic candidate, meaning no democrat would appear on the ballot in the general election in November.

PLEASE EXPLAIN HOW THE PRIMARY SYSTEM WORKS.

Mahan is more moderate than Swalwell, Porter, or Steyer, all of whom are now polling ahead of him.  But he’s quickly pulling ahead in fundraising, already amassing a war chest of over $7 million.  A tech-backed Political Action Committee (PAC), the Govern for California Network, donated $300,000 to Mahan.  Other supporters include LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, Google co-founder Sergey Brin, venture capitalist Michael Moritz, and Palantir co-founder Joe Lonsdale. An independent expenditure committee backed by Silicon Valley executives called “California Back to Basics Supporting Matt Mahan for Governor 2026”. is spending $4.8 million on a statewide television ad blitz supporting Mahan.

Tech money has pushed San Francisco’s leftist local government toward more centrist democrats in recent years, with donors backing moderate candidates and financing recall campaigns that ousted progressive district attorney Chesa Boudin and several school board members.  With that victory under their belts, they have Sacramento in their sights.

Their influence will be felt in other races as well, and could make or break several ballot initiatives.  Meta and Google have contributed $10 million to a Super Pac called California Leads, which, according to Politico, will not limit itself to races and issues affecting the tech industry.  Tech money is funding a last-minute challenge to Congressman Ro Kahna, a popular Silicon Valley politician whose tech support has soured due to his progressive politics, willingness to challenge Trump, and support of the billionaire tax ballot initiative (see Health & Gender Policy Brief #185) and similar federal legislation.

The message is clear to politicians at all levels in California.  Try to rein us in, tax us, or hold us accountable, and we will use our unlimited wealth to take you down.

Engagement Resources

• “The California Initiative for Technology and Democracy seeks state-level solutions to the threats that disinformation, AI, deepfakes, and other emerging technologies pose to our democracy and our elections.”
  https://cited.tech/agenda
• The Bulletin of Technology in Public Life
  https://citap.unc.edu/publication-search/bulletin-of-tech-public-life/
• The Shadowy Millions Behind San Francisco’s “Moderate” Politics. Laura Jedeed, January 6, 2025, The New Republic
  https://newrepublic.com/article/189303/san-francisco-moderate-politics-millionaire-tech-donors