Silicon Valley has embraced Trump. Could Harris win them back?

TSilicon Valley’s wealthy tech industry has always voted Democratic. But last month, a group of technology executives spoke out in favor of Donald Trump, claiming he would be friendlier to the industry and that President Joe Biden was unfit to serve a second term.

But now that Biden has dropped out of the race and the Democratic Party appears to be uniting behind Kamala Harris, a battle could emerge for the affection – and donations – of Silicon Valley. Harris is from Oakland and many people viewed her tenure as California attorney general as pro-tech industry. Now Silicon Valley seems to be to divide– and debates will take place on social media and in technology offices in the coming months.

Trump is supported by Elon and other big tech leaders

It would take a seismic shift for Silicon Valley to truly turn red. In 2020, Santa Clara County, which contains most of Silicon Valley, voted 73% for Biden and 25% for Trump. (O 2016 numbers were very similar.) And a recent WIRED Analysis of campaign contributions found that the venture capital industry actually appears to be donating to Democrats at a higher rate this cycle than in previous years.

But some of the most influential voices in technology have loudly supported Trump, especially since his assassination attempt. Elon Musk and his associate David Sacks have been active on social media to drum up support among technology executives and have injected millions into a SuperPAC for the Trump campaign.

The crypto industry in particular has embraced Trump, who is scheduled to speak at a Bitcoin conference this weekend. Marc Andreessen, co-founder of prominent venture capital firm a16z, denounced the Biden administration’s more aggressive approach to technology and crypto regulation and said he is supporting Trump after supporting Democrats during most election cycles, including in 2016.

And many tech moguls were even more energized by Trump’s pick for vice president, JD Vance, who has deep ties to Silicon Valley, including working for Peter Thiel. Sacks and technology investor Chamath Palihapitiya even personally pressured Trump to choose Vance at a $300,000-per-person dinner, to New York Times reported.

See more information: ​​How the Crypto World Learned to Love Donald Trump, JD Vance, and Project 2025

But Harris has a long history with Silicon Valley

But Harris’ history with Silicon Valley could stem the tide. In recent months, many Silicon Valley Democrats have stood on the sidelines as Biden’s campaign loses steam: businessman and venture capitalist Reid Hoffman told WIRED that tech mega-donors were withholding their donations due to “turmoil.” But Hoffman returned to action after Biden’s departure, calling Harris “the right person at the right time.” Many others immediately joined him: Harris created more than $50 million in less than 24 hours after Biden’s announcement.

Hoffman is one of many Silicon Valley powerhouses who supported Harris during her 2020 presidential campaign due to her industry connections stemming from her time as California’s attorney general. Your 2020 donors it included Salesforce co-founder and CEO Marc Benioff (who also owns TIME magazine), Amazon general counsel David Zapolsky, and Microsoft president Brad Smith.

Some observers, in turn, argued that Harris was too pro-industry while attorney general. His time as AG was marked by a mass consolidation in technology towards a few hyperpower companies, which critics argue she did little to stop. In 2012, it struck a deal with Big Tech titans over privacy protections for smartphone owners, which was widely applauded for the industry. The following year, she participated in Sheryl Sandberg’s marketing campaign Lean in while also being the law enforcement official responsible for overseeing Facebook.

In contrast, she exercised her position to take an active role in pressuring platforms to ban revenge porn. And the Biden administration has actually been marked by a hostile relationship with Big Tech, with Biden appointee Lina Khan trying to use her position at the FTC to break up monopolies. (In a strange twist, J.D. Vance express approval of Khan’s efforts to control Big Tech.) Given this trajectory, it’s unclear how friendly Harris will be to the tech industry if she takes power.

“Kamala Harris has built very close ties to the California-centric Big Tech industry, but a lot has changed in the last four years,” says Jeff Hauser, executive director of the Revolving Door Project. “So it will be a question of: was she deeply committed to Big Tech or was she just sort of a state senator with a state industry taking the easy way out?”

Some tech executives want an open convention

Then there are those in tech leadership who want to support a Democratic candidate, but call on Democrats to select someone who might have broader appeal to their industry. Aaron Levie, CEO of Box, wrote on X that after Biden resigns, Democrats could gain votes by becoming the party that is “extremely pro-technology, trade, entrepreneurship, immigration, AI.”

Reed Hastings, executive chairman of Netflix, wrote in X that Democratic delegates “need to pick a winner in a swing state.” Venture capitalist Vinod Khosla awake-and said that although he believed Harris could beat Trump, he called an open convention. “I want an open process at the convention and not a coronation,” he said he wrote. “The key is still who can best beat Trump above all other priorities.”