WASHINGTON — As Kamala Harris’ campaign looks to re-engage Democratic donors who held back support from President Joe Biden, it is finding renewed interest from a sector that has increasingly favored Donald Trump: Silicon Valley.
Democrats say the suggestion tech sector donors were moving toward Republicans was overstated. But they agree Harris — who started in politics in the Bay Area in California — has helped unlock support that was on the sidelines.
“The pivot that has occurred in the last three days is dramatic,” said Steve Westly, a venture capitalist and who ran for governor of California in 2006. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a surge of enthusiasm in any campaign I’ve been involved with.”
Biden administration accomplishments welcomed by tech industry voters include the CHIPS Act and a climate bill Westly called the “biggest green stimulus in human history.” Harris has a strong track record on issues that Silicon Valley donors care about, he said.
“She’s been out front on R&D tax credits and all the things that have supported [the industry] from the internet to GPS. Trump is out there saying the most outlandish things imaginable,” he said, pointing to his criticism of green energy initiatives and electric vehicles. “The big picture is, most people in tech and most people in business want stability. They don’t want to see mobs attacking the Capitol.”
Westly has regularly hosted high-dollar events for Democratic candidates at his Atherton, California, home, including one with Biden in June 2023. He said there were already efforts underway to schedule new events in response to the surge of demand to support Harris, but acknowledged that the compressed timeline makes 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] will need to be two to three times bigger than usual.
Ron Conway, a venture capitalist and Democratic donor, was among those who had expressed concern about Biden’s June 27 debate performance and implored Democratic leaders to pressure Biden to step aside. In a statement provided to NBC News, he praised Harris.
“I believe our country is at its strongest when we are looking forward, not backward, when we are innovating and growing. Vice President Harris shares that view and Donald Trump does not,” he said.
“That is why I’m confident that the vast majority of the tech ecosystem in Silicon Valley and beyond will stand firmly behind her as part of a broad coalition that will send her to the Oval Office to keep our country moving in the right direction.”
But it’s not just reliable Democratic donors who have to be convinced to turn the spigot back on after cutting off Biden. There are also donors who are being lured away by Trump.
Perhaps the biggest name in the tech sector right now, Elon Musk, has pledged millions in support of Trump’s candidacy through a super PAC also supported by the Winklevoss twins and Joe Lonsdale, a venture capitalist.
Conway, fellow Democratic donor Reid Hoffman and others have been working the phones to try to sway tech contributors from going to Trump’s corner, according to CNBC. Some in the tech community have felt the Biden administration has overregulated their industry, with particular concerns from those leaders on cryptocurrency and AI.
Harris could be the Trump alternative wary tech executives have been looking for, as she’s had a mixed record on government regulations targeting tech. While a senator for California, Harris said in 2019 that “we have to seriously take a look at [a Facebook breakup],” according to Fortune. Asked if she supports the Biden administration’s support for legislation that could lead to a ban on TikTok, a Harris spokesperson pointed to an ABC News interview earlier this year.
“We do not intend to ban TikTok. That is not at all the goal or the purpose of this conversation. We need to deal with the owner, and we have national security concerns about the owner of TikTok,” she said.
Biden signed a bill that could ban TikTok from use in the United States unless its parent company, China-based ByteDance, agrees to sell the social media asset by early 2025.
Harris has for years maintained a close allegiance with some tech leaders. She raised over $500,000 during her 2019 Democratic primary from those working at Amazon, Alphabet, AT&T, Comcast, Microsoft and Apple, according to Federal Election Commission filings.