Who’s funding Mayor Mahan’s gubernatorial campaign? New filings point to tech titans and billionaires

For San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan to compete as a late entrant in the race for California governor, political experts said he needed to raise money fast. And he did — pulling in $7 million in donations in his first week, with more than $2 million coming from some of Silicon Valley’s wealthiest executives and investors.

New campaign filings show that $2.1 million of that haul came from 47 donors, many of them part of the tech industry’s billionaire and venture capital class. The early filings suggest Mahan is quickly emerging as a preferred candidate for deep-pocketed Silicon Valley leaders in a Democratic primary that could test voters’ growing skepticism toward corporate power and extreme wealth.

Mahan, a 43-year-old moderate Democrat and former tech entrepreneur, jumped into the race to succeed Gov. Gavin Newsom late last month. In a field without a clear front-runner, supporters in the tech sector praised the second-term mayor as an outsider to Sacramento and a results-oriented leader focused on crime, homelessness and government efficiency.

Nearly half of the contributors listed in the filings, released Tuesday, gave the maximum $78,400 allowed under state law for the election cycle. They include Google co-founder Sergey Brin, Roblox CEO David Baszucki, billionaire real estate developer Rick Caruso and Y Combinator CEO Gary Tan.

Caruso called Mahan a “practically minded moderate and a thoughtful leader brimming with innovative new ideas” in a statement last month. Tan wrote on social media that the mayor was the “best CA Governor candidate in a field who can’t come up with any vision better than ‘orange man bad’ & ‘eat the rich.'”

The average donation among the 47 donors was $45,247. Because state rules require campaigns to quickly disclose large donations while allowing more time to report smaller ones, it is not yet clear how much of Mahan’s first-week total came from small-dollar contributors.

Melissa Michelson, a political science professor at Menlo College, said the donor list signals concern among wealthy Californians about potential tax increases.

“It’s pretty clear that the billionaires of California are concerned that the next governor of California might increase their taxes and they would prefer to get a friendly face in the governor’s mansion,” she said.

Mahan has opposed a proposed wealth tax on billionaires backed by SEIU-UHW, arguing it would drive high-paying jobs out of the state. Gov. Newsom also opposes the proposal. The tax has drawn sharp criticism from some tech executives, several of whom have publicly warned about leaving California if it were enacted.

The early wave of tech money has also fueled criticism from the left.

Tom Steyer, a Democratic gubernatorial candidate and a billionaire himself, said Mahan’s “first finance report confirms exactly who is enabling his campaign, who he must please and who is behind his candidacy.”

“His campaign is bankrolled by tech billionaires and corporate insiders who profit off your data, crush competition, attack unions and pour money into surveillance and defense contractors,” Steyer said in a statement.

Other prominent donors to Mahan include billionaire investor and SpaceX board member Steve Jurvetson, venture capitalist Brian Singerman and Palantir co-founder Joe Lonsdale. Lonsdale drew national attention in December for calling for public hangings for those who have committed three violent crimes as a way to “bring back masculine leadership.”

Adrian Rafizadeh, Mahan’s campaign manager, rejected criticism that the mayor is beholden to wealthy donors.

“Teachers, small business owners, and California entrepreneurs want the same results: safe streets, clean neighborhoods, an end to unsheltered homelessness,” Rafizadeh said.

Since taking office in 2022, Mahan has centered his administration on what he calls a “back to basics” agenda. City data show San Jose more than doubled its shelter capacity last year and moved more than 1,000 unhoused residents indoors, part of an effort the mayor credits with reducing visible street homelessness.

“Trust in city government has increased by nearly 40% since he took office because he delivered, and because he was willing to stand up to special interests to get things done,” Rafizadeh said, citing city polling.

Mahan’s $7 million total places him second in the fundraising race behind Steyer, who has put $28.8 million of his own money into his campaign. Former U.S. Rep. Katie Porter has raised $6.1 million, fueled largely by small-dollar donors whose average contribution was $68, along with support from labor unions including the California Teamsters. Former Fox News host Steve Hilton, one of the leading Republicans in the race, raised $5.7 million in 2025 and outraised Porter in the second half of last year.

Independent spending could further boost Mahan’s campaign. A newly formed independent expenditure committee — which can raise and spend unlimited sums but cannot coordinate directly with a candidate — has already attracted at least $3.3 million from tech leaders including Y Combinator executive Michael Seibel and Riot Games co-founder Marc Merrill, according to POLITICO.

Michelson, the political science professor, said that while it’s “not very popular to be a billionaire” in this current moment, Mahan may have little choice but to compete financially with wealthy candidates.

“It could hurt Mahan if Californians start to think he’s trying to buy the gubernatorial seat,” she said. “That Tom Steyer is spending his own money to run for governor kind of inoculates Mahan cause we’ve got to compete with the billionaire.”

Whether Silicon Valley’s early embrace becomes an asset or a liability may depend on how voters interpret the flood of tech money — as proof of confidence in a pragmatic mayor or as a sign that the industry is trying to shape the state’s political future.