Silicon Valley’s Cash Bomb Fizzles in CA Primaries—But Don’t Mistake Losses for Retreat

(SeaPRwire) –

By: Gavin Thorne

Silicon Valley’s cash cannon misfired in California’s primaries. Big tech donors poured historic sums into races up and down the ballot, but results are mixed. Top picks like Matt Mahan flopped, yet some under-the-radar candidates are still in the game. This isn’t a defeat for tech influence—it’s a lesson in how money works (and doesn’t) in politics.

San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, who got millions from Google’s Sergey Brin and Stripe’s Patrick Collison, conceded minutes after polls closed. With 60% of ballots counted, he had just 4% of votes—20 points behind leaders. Tech entrepreneur Ethan Agarwal, backed by DoorDash’s Stanley Tang and Y Combinator’s Garry Tan, got only 6% against Rep. Ro Khanna’s nearly 60%.

But not all tech-backed candidates lost. Scott Wiener, running for Nancy Pelosi’s seat, advanced to the general election with 41% of votes. His campaign got support from Abundant Future, a super PAC funded by Garry Tan and Ripple’s Christian Larsen. Wiener beat Connie Chan, who had 29% with half the ballots counted.

Down-ballot races tell a different story. Mark Pulido and David Penaloza, running for State Assembly seats, got hundreds of thousands from Grow California—funded by Larsen and Tim Draper. Pulido also got $250k from California Leads, which Meta and Google each gave $5M to. Both are on track to advance, per unofficial results.

Experts say tech money can’t skip traditional electability steps. Thad Kousser from UC San Diego says candidates need a record and name recognition. Neil Malhotra from Stanford notes tech ties hurt—80% of Americans think social media has too much political influence, per Pew. Bipartisan skepticism makes overt tech alignment risky.

Tech will keep lobbying and influencing policy even if some candidates lose. Big tech spent $20M on congressional lobbying in Q1 2024, $39M in CA last year on campaigns, lobbying, and lawmaker requests. They’re at every policy table—AI, data centers, crypto. Losses in primaries won’t kick them out.

Author bio: Gavin Thorne, an insider political investigative journalist based in Washington, D.C., covers money and influence in U.S. elections.