WASHINGTON — As Kamala Harris’s campaign tries to re-engage Democratic donors who withdrew their support for President Joe Biden, it is finding new interest from a sector that has increasingly favored Donald Trump: Silicon Valley.
Democrats say the suggestion that tech donors are moving toward Republicans is overblown. But they agree that Harris, who started politics in California’s Bay Area, has helped unlock support that had been left out.
“The turnaround in the last three days is dramatic,” says venture capitalist Steve Westley, who ran for governor of California in 2006. campaign I’m involved in.”
Accomplishments of the Biden administration hailed by tech industry voters include the CHIPS Act and the climate bill, which Westly called “the biggest green stimulus in human history.” He said Harris has a strong track record in issues Silicon Valley donors care about.
“He’s been at the forefront of R&D tax credits and all that support [the industry] From the Internet to GPS. Trump is out there saying the weirdest things imaginable,” he said, pointing to his criticism of green energy initiatives and electric vehicles. “The big picture is that most people in tech and most people in business want stability. They don’t want to see mobs attack the Capitol. “.
Westly regularly hosted high-dollar events for Democratic candidates at his Atherton, Calif., home with Biden in June 2023. He said efforts are already underway to plan new events in response to increased demand to support Harris. but admitted that the tight schedule made things difficult.
“We raised $50,000 within an hour of sending out our first email, and we don’t even have a date,” he said. “Everyone knows that time is precious. [Events] it should be two to three times larger than usual.
Venture capitalist and Democratic donor Ron Conway was among those who expressed concern about Biden’s June 27 debate performance and asked Democratic leaders to pressure Biden to step aside. In a statement to NBC News, he said he praised Harris.
“I believe that our country is strong when it looks forward, not backward, when it innovates and develops. Vice President Harris also shares this opinion, but Donald Trump does not.”
“That’s why I’m confident that the vast majority of the tech ecosystem in Silicon Valley and beyond will be firmly behind him as part of the broad coalition that will send him to the Oval Office. “
But it’s not just reliable Democratic donors who should be trusted to restart the gag after cutting Biden. There are also donors tempted by Trump.
Elon Musk, perhaps the biggest name in the tech sector right now, has pledged millions to support Trump’s candidacy through a super PAC. is also supported By the Winklevoss twins and venture capitalist Joe Lonsdale.
Conway, fellow Democratic donor Reid Hoffman and others have been working the phones to try to dissuade tech contributors from going into Trump’s corner. According to CNBC. Some in the tech community felt the Biden administration was over-regulating their industry, with leaders in cryptocurrency and artificial intelligence particularly concerned.
Harris could be the Trump alternative that wary tech executives are looking for because of his mixed record on government regulations targeting technology. When Harris was a California senator, he said in 2019 that “we have to take a serious look [a Facebook breakup]”, according to Fortune. Asked if the Biden administration would support legislation that could lead to a ban on TikTok, Harris’ spokeswoman hinted. ABC News interview earlier this year.
“We are not going to ban TikTok. That is not the point or purpose of this conversation at all. We have to deal with the owner, and we have national security concerns about the owner of TikTok,” he said.
Biden signed a bill that could ban TikTok from being used in the United States, but only if its parent company, China-based ByteDance, agrees to sell the social media asset by early 2025.
Harris has maintained close ties with some tech leaders for years. According to FEC filings, he raised more than $500,000 from employees of Amazon, Alphabet, AT&T, Comcast, Microsoft and Apple during the 2019 Democratic primary.