Billionaire venture capitalist Mark Cuban endorsed Kamala Harris for president in July, shortly after President Biden announced he would not seek re-election. Cuban also supported Harris’s pick for vice president, saying Tim Walz is someone who “can sit at the kitchen table and make you feel like you have known him forever,” Forbes reported.
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The Republican party has typically been seen as more pro-business than the Democratic party, so Cuban’s support for the Democratic ticket is a bit surprising. But he’s not alone.
Here’s why Mark Cuban and many other venture capitalists are supporting Kamala Harris for president.
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VCs For Kamala
Cuban is part of a group of over 800 venture capitalist investors, tech leaders and founders who have come out publicly in support of the Harris/Walz ticket. Calling themselves VCs for Kamala, the group states its members “believe in democracy as the backbone of our nation.”
The group of visionaries describes themselves in this way: “We spend our days looking for, investing in and supporting entrepreneurs who are building the future. We are pro-business, pro-American dream, pro-entrepreneurship and pro-technological progress.”
The pledge that these venture capitalists have signed in support of Harris says, in part, “We believe that strong, trustworthy institutions are a feature, not a bug, and that our industry — and every other industry — would collapse without them. That is what’s at stake in this election. Everything else, we can solve through constructive dialog with political leaders and institutions willing to talk to us.”
The 800-plus investors, founders and leaders who have signed the VCs for Kamala pledge include:
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Chris Sacca, Lowercarbon Capital
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Amish Patel, Conduit Venture Labs
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Reid Hoffman, Greylock
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Anna Palmer, XFactor Ventures
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Anu Duggal, Female Founders Fund
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Charlie O’Donnell, Brooklyn Bridge Ventures
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Daniel Goldman and David Miller, Clean Energy Ventures
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Jewel Walker, 1248 Angels
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Paige Doherty, Behind Genius Ventures
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Pete Arethas, Evergreen Park Capital
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Small Business Policy
Harris has not released her full economic policy as of Aug. 14, but Wes Moore, Governor of Maryland and a Harris ally who is gaining prominence in the Democratic party, indicated she will prioritize small business growth and industry competition.
In an interview with CNBC, Moore said, “Making sure that we are both supporting our small businesses and making it easier for small business to be able to grow, and also making it easier for our large industries to be able to compete,” is going to be important to Harris. The emphasis on competition and support for small businesses represents a contrast to the current administration’s anti-trust and anti-merger policies.
Hometown Advantage
Another factor that may be part of the reason that venture capitalists and tech titans are backing Harris is that she is a Bay Area native, and they’ve seen what she has done as attorney general and senator from California.
As attorney general in California, Harris did not take on anti-trust issues related to technology companies head on, and she took some criticism from antitrust advocates when, for example, Facebook acquired Instagram and WhatsApp. As a senator, however, she took on the issues of online privacy and “revenge porn,” aiming to protect the privacy of social media users.
Harris reportedly has ties to big-money donors in Silicon Valley, including former Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg, Melinda French Gates and Laurene Powell Jobs. These donors support technology and entrepreneurship but also support the social programs Democrats are well known for.
Talking the Tech Talk
As vice president, Harris has been in charge of initiatives around artificial intelligence and other tech topics for the Biden administration. She understands the importance of innovation and the delicate balance between technology and privacy and is seen as someone who will listen to the needs and desires of tech companies, while protecting the average American.
Mark Cuban appears to be supportive of the Harris campaign’s interest in new technologies, including cryptocurrency. Cuban told the crypto news site Decrypt that the campaign has reached out to him with questions about cryptocurrency, which he views as a positive sign.
Of course, Harris does not have the support of every tech titan. Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and owner of the social media platform X (formerly Twitter), has endorsed Donald Trump and recently interviewed the former president live on the platform. Venture capitalists Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz have also publicly stated their support for Trump.
The Democratic National Convention begins August 19th, and the Harris/Walz platform will likely be laid out at that time, which may lead to more endorsements. But at the end of the day, each American has one vote to use as they please.
Editor’s note on election coverage: GOBankingRates is nonpartisan and strives to cover all aspects of the economy objectively and present balanced reports on politically focused finance stories. You can find more coverage of this topic on GOBankingRates.com.
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