NEW YORK - Workers at many of the largest U.S. tech companies overwhelmingly back Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris, according to donation data, even as some of the most powerful tech billionaires have thrown their support to Republican rival Donald Trump.
The Nov. 5 presidential election has riven Silicon Valley, once a bastion of democratic and liberal support. Venture capitalist Reid Hoffman from Greylock and entrepreneur Mark Cuban are pledging support for Harris’ White House bid, with hopes of seeing more abortion rights for workers and pro-tech policies.
“Many businesses serve customers on both sides of the political aisle, and they don't want to alienate customers by making contributions that support just one party or one candidate in a partisan race,” said Michael Beckel, research director at campaign finance reform nonprofit Issue One. While corporations are blocked from sending money directly to presidential candidates, their employees aren't, and tech employees are overwhelmingly giving to Harris.
For example, Walmart workers have donated a total of $275,000 to both Harris and Trump, with both presidential candidates receiving nearly the same amount in funding. Trump’s campaign is taking in $144,000 from Walmart workers, about $14,000 more than Harris’. Workers and family members at Meta and Apple haven’t hit the $1 million mark in donations to Harris yet, but they are continuing the trend of outpacing contributions to Trump. Meta employees have donated $25,000 to Trump compared with $835,000 to Harris, while Apple employees donated $44,000 to Trump compared with $861,000 to Harris.