Silicon Valley mayor gets Sergey Brin, Caruso backing in governor run

Eliyahu Kamisher and Biz Carson, Bloomberg News on Feb 10, 2026

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A group of billionaires, including Sergey Brin, is backing San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan’s campaign for California governor, as Silicon Valley flocks to support the former tech entrepreneur and his centrist platform countering the state’s liberal establishment.

Besides the Google co-founder, Mahan’s campaign received donations from David Baszucki, co-founder and CEO of Roblox, and Joe Lonsdale, the co-founder of Palantir. They maxed out their individual contributions at $78,400, according to campaign filings released Tuesday.

Mahan, a Democrat, announced he was running for governor late January and so far he has already raised over $7 million, according to people familiar with the effort.

The donations show “tremendous support” among Californians to “get back to basics on the issues that matter most,” said Eric Jaye, an advisor to Mahan’s bid. He declined to comment on total amount raised by the campaign.

Other donors include Y Combinator CEO Garry Tan and Matt Grimm, co-founder of Anduril, the filings show. Mahan’s campaign also saw support from billionaire mall magnate Rick Caruso.

The influx of Silicon Valley money gives Mahan an important boost in the crowded race to succeed Governor Gavin Newsom, who is barred by term limits from running again.

Mahan built his political brand around aggressively confronting homelessness and bolstering drug and retail crime punishments while criticizing Newsom for his trolling of President Donald Trump. The mayor has championed policies that have put him at odds with much of his party’s progressive base, including allowing law enforcement to arrest people living on the streets who repeatedly refuse offers of shelter.

Brin, the third richest person in the world, has been taking steps to leave California in the face of a proposed ballot measure that would levy a 5% tax on the state’s billionaires. Still, he’s wielding his $254.5 billion fortune to influence the state’s politics, seeding a new committee with tens of millions of dollars seeking to reshape California’s political scene.