Tech industry wins big in California primary election with millions spent paying off

Silicon Valley demonstrated its political clout in California's primary election, pouring tens of millions of dollars into campaigns to secure favorable outcomes and ward off potential regulations. Despite their top pick for governor, San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, falling short with only 4% of the vote, the tech industry celebrated several key victories.

Scott Wiener, the industry's favored candidate to succeed Nancy Pelosi in the Senate, secured the most votes and will advance to the general election. Additionally, Ben Allen, the tech-backed choice for state insurance commissioner, appears poised to move forward as vote counts continue. These successes highlight the effectiveness of strategic investments in smaller, yet influential, races.

Super Political Action Committees (Super PACs) backed by tech moguls and companies played a significant role. Grow California, funded by crypto figures Chris Larsen and Tim Draper, invested millions in local legislative contests. Similarly, California Leads, backed by Google and Meta, spent heavily to support eight assembly and senate candidates. Their stated goal is to "rebuild a state capital" and ensure that "who serves in the State Legislature matters."

One notable example of this strategy is Mark Pulido, a Democrat running for state assembly in Orange County. He received approximately $2.25 million from Grow California and California Leads, securing his advancement to a runoff election against the Republican candidate in November. This demonstrates the concentrated effort to place preferred candidates in positions of power within the state legislature.

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Our work is grounded in a simple idea: who serves in the State Legislature matters.