A new tech-friendly governor?

The California governor’s race has been a crowded field without notable frontrunners.
#Newsom had been a long-time friend of the tech industry, hosting Google’s #Page and #Brin as guests at his wedding
and referring to Salesforce chief executive Marc #Benioff as “family”.
His departure appears to have Silicon Valley fretting.

#Singleton, from the Chamber of Progress, said Newsom had long recognized “how pivotal the technology industry is in California”.

But then, late last month, Matt #Mahan, a moderate Democrat and the mayor of San Jose, announced his candidacy.

Before Mahan got involved in politics in 2020, he had a career in the tech sector.
He was an undergraduate at Harvard with Zuckerberg,
and in 2014 co-founded a startup with funding from #Conway, #Benioff and Napster co-founder Sean #Parker.

Mahan appears to be the savior the tech industry had been searching for.
Since his candidacy announcement just two weeks ago,
⚠️millions have poured into his campaign.

According to public records, he’s received donations from several venture capitalists,
along with Roblox CEO David #Baszucki, Y Combinator CEO Garry #Tan, GitHub co-founder Chris #Wanstrath, Cloudkitchen co-founder Diego #Berdakin, and Ring founder #Siminoff.

Mahan has even courted donors who helped launch companies known for working with the Trump administration,
including Palantir co-founder Joe #Lonsdale and Anduril co-founder Matt #Grimm and his wife Kimberly Grimm, according to public records.

Google’s #Brin has also backed Mahan, maxing out the limit for an individual campaign donation at $78,400.

Several of Mahan’s other tech backers also maxed out their donations.
🔥At this point, Mahan has now raised more than double the two most prominent democrats in the race, ⭐️Eric Swalwell
and ⭐️Katie Porter.

As political races and ballot measure campaigns continue to heat up across California in 2026, tech’s influence is only expected to grow.

“It’s going to be a fun session,” Singleton said. That’s for sure.”

#MattMahan #KatiePorter #EricSwallwell #CAGovernor
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/feb/15/california-billionaires-state-elections