upper waypoint

Silicon Valley Spent Millions on California's Primaries with Mixed Results

California, a state viewed as more receptive to the tech industry, served as an early test for how AI money will perform in primary elections nationwide.
San José Mayor Matt Mahan is interviewed for Political Breakdown at the KQED offices in San Francisco on March 13, 2025. (Martin do Nascimento/KQED)

Silicon Valley spent big in California’s primaries. Venture capitalists, artificial intelligence executives and tech billionaires poured tens of millions of dollars into races up and down the ballot, trying to influence who will regulate them. For the most part, their preferred candidates fell short, a sign of growing anti-tech sentiment among voters. However, tech-backed super PACs managed to secure some notable victories.

KQED’s Lesley McClurg is joined by Politico’s Silicon Valley reporter Christine Mui to assess the impact of Big Tech’s big spending.

Check out ⁠⁠⁠⁠Political Breakdown’s weekly newsletter⁠⁠⁠⁠, delivered straight to your inbox.

lower waypoint
next waypoint
Player sponsored by