The previous year's election resulted in thebiggest blowfor decades, the alliance between Democrats and Silicon Valley. Fixing the harm is proving challenging.
Adam Kovacevich, the leader of the center-left organization Chamber of Progress, is attempting to act as a mediator. Kovacevich has spent several months engaging with Democrats, tech employees, and former officials from the Biden administration to understand what caused tech leaders to distance themselves from the party and how to restore the connection.
Some executives who consistently support Democrats believe that party leaders see Silicon Valley as a source of funds and are not advocating for policies that benefit the sector. This trend is raising worries among Democrats that losing support from tech leaders such as Sam Altman from OpenAI and venture capitalist Marc Andreessen is another challenge for a party experiencing its lowest poll numbers in years.more than three decades.
I believe it's a significant issue," stated Kovacevich, a former Google executive. "It would be self-defeating for us to emerge as the anti-innovation party.
Approximately 80% of contributions from the communications and electronics industry during the most recent election cycle were directed towards Democrats, with a comparable proportion coming from major technology companies such as Google and Microsoft, as reported by OpenSecrets, a non-profit organization that monitors campaign finance information. However, this partnership became strained for some individuals who disagreed with the Biden administration's emphasis on regulating certain sectors.cryptocurrencies and artificial intelligenceand are supported by President Trump's initiatives.
"The Democratic Party was known for being the party of innovation and all that's new and advanced. We definitely stepped back," said Brian Brokaw, a Democratic advisor to California Governor Gavin Newsom and others.
Brokaw, who also works with technology clients, cautioned that his party must convince the industry that it supports innovation, or face losing a crucial source of funding. "If you don't have financial backing from what has been, in recent cycles, a vital part of your fundraising efforts, this will put the Democrats at a disadvantage in elections," he stated.
Rank-and-file technology workers are generally anticipated to remain supportive of Democrats, yet the change in stance among certain top executives is a new concern for party officials.
Altman recently said he was “politically homelessfollowing what he described as a Democratic move away from policies that foster innovation and entrepreneurship. Altman previously likened Trump to Hitler, but he is now one of Trump's preferred executives, endorsing the president's efforts to reduce regulations and back AI.
Kovacevich's listening tour is among multiple actions the Democrats are implementing to tackle the issue. Earlier this year, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D., N.Y.) and Silicon Valley Representative Sam Liccardo met with supporters to discuss restoring the connection.
Liccardo, a former mayor of San Jose, California, stated that Democrats have the potential to regain backing from smaller technology firms that are dissatisfied with the current situation.Trump’s tariffs, attacks against immigrants and budget reductions at universities. Liccardo recently contributed to releasing an innovation plan for a coalition of House Democrats that emphasized research funding and the attraction of high-skilled immigrants.
"This presents a chance for the Democrats to set ourselves apart if we are ready to adopt the necessity of backing progress," he stated.
Cooper Teboe, a Democratic consultant based in Silicon Valley, believes that Democrats lost between 30% and 40% of support from the tech sector during the 2024 election but has managed to regain some of it. One issue is that many tech entrepreneurs arebenefiting from Trump’s policiestax cuts and reduced regulations
"These individuals simply aim to create and generate income, just like Trump," stated Teboe.
He claimed that Democrats still have a chance to regain the support they've lost—particularly if they concentrate on tariffs and economic instability—but the majority of the party must alter its approach. He is collaborating with Liccardo and Rep. Ro Khanna (D., Calif.), who also represents a significant portion of Silicon Valley and maintains strong ties with the industry. Khanna and Liccardo are among the top fundraisers in the House.
Several high-level technology executives or their organizations contributed $1 million to Trump's inauguration fund. A number of the leading contributors to the inauguration eventflanked Trumpwhen he took office for the second time, including Tesla's Chief Executive Elon Musk, Apple's CEO Tim Cook, and Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos.
"Some of the same individuals who were present at Trump's inauguration were engaging with people like me during 2017-2018," stated Aaron Goldzimer, a Democratic donor advisor.
The atmosphere at an AI conferenceattended by TrumpIn late July, there was a sense of excitement. Executives such as Jensen Huang from Nvidia mingled with government officials, and Trump outlined his strategy to surpass China in the technology competition. Trump criticized former President Joe Biden's emphasis on export controls and AI model standards as being too conservative. "The biggest threat of all is to give up the race and push our allies toward competing technologies," he stated.
Trump has also embraced cryptocurrencies, placing Democrats in Congress in a difficult position. Opposing legislation that establishes the industry's initial regulations might be perceived as opposing an innovative technology, but supporting it could potentially benefit Trump through his family's businesses. His family has already earned at least several hundred million dollars from various cryptocurrency ventures. The White House has stated that there is no conflict of interest.
"I've never witnessed a group of people more eager to back Republicans and even Trump than in Silicon Valley at this moment," said Matt Lira, a Republican who focused on technology matters during the initial Trump administration.
A cryptocurrency-backed super-PAC group recently announced that it had over $140 million in funds as of the end of June, indicating its intention to focus on opposing candidates within the industry during next year's midterm elections, similar to its actions in 2024. Previously, the group has backed lawmakers from both major political parties.
Musk pointed out another potential danger for Democrats in losing ultra-wealthy tech executives, as he contributed almost $300 million to Trump and other Republicans before the 2024 election. The connection between Trump and Musk hassince fractured, and Musk has mentioned he is launching a third party.
Certain technology leaders, including Konstantin Richter, the CEO of the California-based cryptocurrency firm Blockdaemon, are observing what Musk will do due to their dissatisfaction with both political sides. "They have created a situation that's extremely difficult to escape," Richter remarked about the Democrats.
Write to Amrith Ramkumar atamrith.ramkumar@wsj.com and Eliza Collins at eliza.collins@wsj.com