SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) 鈥� One tech investor called him 鈥渢he only sane鈥� Democrat in the race for . Others have dumped millions to boost his campaign, even paying for a Super Bowl ad to introduce him to voters. He鈥檚 against a proposed that has the state鈥檚 wealthiest residents threatening an exodus.
San Jose is tech鈥檚 favorite candidate to be the next leader of California.
The 43-year-old former tech executive jumped into the in January, touting himself as a pragmatic problem-solver. A moderate Democrat, Mahan has built his statewide profile mainly by criticizing Gov. Gavin Newsom and the Legislature’s response to homelessness and crime. His centrist message has appealed to tech leaders who want a business-friendly governor to succeed Newsom, a longtime tech ally who鈥檚 terming out.
In just three months, Mahan has raised more than any of his rivals, many of whom have been running for more than a year. ( is largely self-funding his campaign.)
During a Tuesday , he criticized his rivals as career politicians while crafting himself as the candidate with practical solutions to the state鈥檚 challenges.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 need MAGA values, but we also don鈥檛 need more of the same,鈥� Mahan said, referring to President Donald Trump鈥檚 鈥淢ake America Great Again鈥� movement supported by Republican rivals Chad Bianco and , whom Trump has endorsed.
But Mahan doesn鈥檛 appear to have yet gained the momentum he expected or the widespread name recognition to beat his rivals 鈥� and he鈥檚 running out of time to win over voters ahead of the June 2 primary. His ties to tech are of particular concern to labor unions and a segment of Democratic voters who question whether he鈥檒l stand up to the industry.
A Silicon Valley mayor
鈥淧eople do not want somebody who is a puppet of these big tech billionaires, of these AI billionaires 鈥� and that鈥檚 who he has always been,鈥� said Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher, president of the California Labor Federation, which has endorsed Steyer, former U.S. Rep. and former Los Angeles Mayor .
Mahan said he’s the only candidate who has experience with the behemoth industry, pointing to a coalition he created in San Jose where more than 900 public agencies work together to explore responsible ways to implement artificial intelligence in government. In Tuesday’s debate, he said he supports taxing AI companies to fund workforce development.
鈥淰oters can see past the kind of, you know, shallow connection that because I鈥檓 the mayor of the largest city in Silicon Valley, that might mean that I鈥檓 not willing to regulate tech,鈥� Mahan told The Associated Press. “It鈥檚 actually been quite the opposite.鈥�
Observers note California is known for leading the way on policies aimed at both boosting and reining in its home-grown tech industry.
鈥淚f they can ensure that they get a governor in California who鈥檚 weak on tech accountability, then that can save them a lot of money across the states,鈥� J.B. Branch of Public Citizen, a progressive consumer rights advocacy group, said of the Silicon Valley leaders supporting Mahan.
Tech’s efforts to exert political influence
Across politics, the tech industry is flexing its political muscle as public skepticism about and rises. Independent groups backed by tech companies and billionaires have already committed at least $40 million to influence California legislative races.
Political committees backing Mahan have raised more than $25 million, including donations from Google co-founder Sergey Brin, venture capitalist Michael Moritz and Reddit CEO Steve Huffman.
Some donors, like Brin and Palantir co-founder Joe Lonsdale, are hedging their bets 鈥� they also gave to Hilton, the former Fox News host.
Mahan is 鈥渇ocused on actually solving problems 鈥� building more housing, improving public safety and making it possible for people to live and work here again,鈥� Garry Tan, who leads a startup accelerator that helped launch companies like Airbnb and DoorDash, said through a spokesperson.
From the Ivy League to business and politics
A Harvard graduate, Mahan was classmates with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who he’s said instead of law school.
Mahan was part of the team that built an early Facebook app called Causes that allowed users to promote nonprofit organizations. He then co-founded Brigade, a nonpartisan online voter network.
But that’s not at the center of Mahan’s campaign. He’s focused instead on his upbringing as the son of a postal worker and a schoolteacher. He’s the only major Democrat who wants to suspend the state’s gas tax.
He defeated a labor-backed candidate for mayor in 2022 after serving two years on the city council. As mayor, he convinced council members to direct more city money toward short-term housing to get homeless people off the streets and made them eligible for for rejecting shelters. Both efforts faced fierce opposition, but San Jose last year saw a drop in the number of people without access to shelters, according to county data.
He bucked Newsom in 2024 by backing . Mahan has since tamped down his criticism, saying the governor has focused on the right issues.
Tech support is a double-edged sword
Mahan has committed to not raising taxes to fix budget holes 鈥� including with a one-time tax on billionaires that most of his rivals are also against. He wants to incentivize elected state officials and appointees by tying future pay raises to improvements on issues like unemployment rates and homelessness.
鈥淩aising taxes isn鈥檛 always the answer, Tom,鈥� he pointedly said Tuesday when Steyer pitched a plan to make corporations pay more in property taxes.
Mahan raised more than $13 million in 11 weeks, allowing him to launch television ads to reach voters in some of the most expensive markets in the country. Two independent expenditure groups have spent more than $18 million to boost him.
As of last month, only about 730 donations given to Mahan鈥檚 campaign were less than $250, indicating limited grassroots support. In contrast, almost all of Porter鈥檚 46,000 donations were under that amount, as were about 5,600 of those to former state attorney general Xavier Becerra.
Still, voters’ support for the other Democratic candidates “is very soft” Mahan said of his chance. 鈥淓ven if people are leaning a certain way, they鈥檙e still persuadable.鈥�
Tech moguls鈥� support of Mahan鈥檚 candidacy and his plans to regulate them were among the most popular topics during a recent 鈥淎sk Me Anything鈥� session Mahan hosted on Reddit, where people can ask questions anonymously.
Several people asked when Mahan would drop out to prevent a catastrophic scenario for Democrats where to the November election. One asked which Democrat he would endorse after exiting the race.
鈥淚 plan to win!鈥� he responded.
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