![Kamala Harris wants to be America’s first Silicon Valley president. She has tech’s support](https://media.cnn.com/api/v1/images/stellar/prod/ap24205693248426-copy.jpg?c=16x9&q=w_800,c_fill)
Kamala Harris wants to be America’s first Silicon Valley president. She has tech’s support
CNN
With Vice President Kamala Harris the frontrunner to receive the Democratic party’s nomination for president, America’s most powerful industry is set to have a candidate on the ballot from its home turf.
With Vice President Kamala Harris the front runner to receive the Democratic Party’s nomination for president, America’s most powerful industry is set to have a candidate on the ballot from its home turf. Top technology leaders are already showing their excitement for the Bay Area native, in the form of endorsements and donations for Harris, which have come from prominent names, such as longtime Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg, Netflix Co-Founder Reed Hastings and philanthropist Melinda French Gates. The Harris supporters represent a foil to the loud and powerful — although not necessarily large — contingent of (mostly) men in tech who have endorsed Former President Donald Trump’s White House bid, including Elon Musk. The pro-Harris movement within tech suggests that the vice president’s policies, as well as her long and friendly relationship with many top executives in the tech world, may ultimately make her Silicon Valley’s top choice for the White House. “There’s been a real shift in the Valley toward supporting Harris in a way that was not happening with Biden,” Aaron Levie, CEO of the cloud computing firm Box, told CNN. “I am pretty optimistic. I believe she has some appreciation for the different dynamics that we deal with in the tech industry, and how important of a role tech is going to play in the in the future of the economy and the country.” Harris was born and began her political career in Oakland, California, a short ferry ride from the heart of the tech industry. She attended the wedding of early Facebook executive Sean Parker, and she’s appeared at events alongside Steve Jobs’ widow and philanthropist Laurene Powell Jobs. Harris’ failed 2020 presidential bid received support from various tech luminaries, including Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff and legendary venture capitalist Ron Conway. Despite her friendly relationships with the industry’s leaders, Harris has also pushed for tech accountability in key areas. As California’s attorney general, she went after tech companies for their role in online sexual harassment and revenge porn. As a California senator in 2018, Harris grilled Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg over user privacy in a hearing following the Cambridge Analytica scandal.