Tech is betting on a former executive in the race for California governor

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — One tech investor called him “the only sane” Democrat in the race for California governor. Others have dumped millions to boost his campaign, even paying for a Super Bowl ad to introduce him to voters. He’s against a proposed billionaires’ tax that has the state’s wealthiest residents threatening an exodus.

San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan is tech’s favorite candidate to be the next leader of California.

The 43-year-old former tech executive jumped into the crowded race in January, touting himself as a pragmatic problem-solver. A moderate Democrat, Mahan has built his statewide profile mainly by criticizing Gov. Gavin Newsom and the Legislature's response to homelessness and crime. His centrist message has appealed to tech leaders who want a business-friendly governor to succeed Newsom, a longtime tech ally who’s terming out.

In just three months, Mahan has raised more than any of his rivals, many of whom have been running for more than a year. ( Billionaire Tom Steyer is largely self-funding his campaign.)

During a Tuesday night debate on CNN, he criticized his rivals as career politicians while crafting himself as the candidate with practical solutions to the state’s challenges.

“We don’t need MAGA values, but we also don’t need more of the same,” Mahan said, referring to President Donald Trump’s “Make America Great Again” movement supported by Republican rivals Chad Bianco and Steve Hilton, whom Trump has endorsed.

But Mahan doesn’t appear to have yet gained the momentum he expected or the widespread name recognition to beat his rivals — and he’s running out of time to win over voters ahead of the June 2 primary. His ties to tech are of particular concern to labor unions and a segment of Democratic voters who question whether he’ll stand up to the industry.

“People do not want somebody who is a puppet of these big tech billionaires, of these AI billionaires — and that’s who he has always been,” said Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher, president of the California Labor Federation, which has endorsed Steyer, former U.S. Rep. Katie Porter and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.

Mahan said he's the only candidate who has experience with the behemoth industry, pointing to a coalition he created in San Jose where more than 900 public agencies work together to explore responsible ways to implement artificial intelligence in government. In Tuesday's debate, he said he supports taxing AI companies to fund workforce development.

“Voters can see past the kind of, you know, shallow connection that because I’m the mayor of the largest city in Silicon Valley, that might mean that I’m not willing to regulate tech,” Mahan told The Associated Press. "It’s actually been quite the opposite.”

Observers note California is known for leading the way on policies aimed at both boosting and reining in its home-grown tech industry.

“If they can ensure that they get a governor in California who’s weak on tech accountability, then that can save them a lot of money across the states,” J.B. Branch of Public Citizen, a progressive consumer rights advocacy group, said of the Silicon Valley leaders supporting Mahan.

Across politics, the tech industry is flexing its political muscle as public skepticism about social media and artificial intelligence rises. Independent groups backed by tech companies and billionaires have already committed at least $40 million to influence California legislative races.

Political committees backing Mahan have raised more than $25 million, including donations from Google co-founder Sergey Brin, venture capitalist Michael Moritz and Reddit CEO Steve Huffman.

Some donors, like Brin and Palantir co-founder Joe Lonsdale, are hedging their bets — they also gave to Hilton, the former Fox News host.

Mahan is “focused on actually solving problems — building more housing, improving public safety and making it possible for people to live and work here again,” Garry Tan, who leads a startup accelerator that helped launch companies like Airbnb and DoorDash, said through a spokesperson.

A Harvard graduate, Mahan was classmates with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who he's said persuaded him to go into tech instead of law school.

Mahan was part of the team that built an early Facebook app called Causes that allowed users to promote nonprofit organizations. He then co-founded Brigade, a nonpartisan online voter network.

But that's not at the center of Mahan's campaign. He's focused instead on his upbringing as the son of a postal worker and a schoolteacher. He's the only major Democrat who wants to suspend the state's gas tax.

He defeated a labor-backed candidate for mayor in 2022 after serving two years on the city council. As mayor, he convinced council members to direct more city money toward short-term housing to get homeless people off the streets and made them eligible for arrest for rejecting shelters. Both efforts faced fierce opposition, but San Jose last year saw a drop in the number of people without access to shelters, according to county data.

He bucked Newsom in 2024 by backing a tough-on-crime ballot measure. Mahan has since tamped down his criticism, saying the governor has focused on the right issues.

Mahan has committed to not raising taxes to fix budget holes — including with a one-time tax on billionaires that most of his rivals are also against. He wants to incentivize elected state officials and appointees by tying future pay raises to improvements on issues like unemployment rates and homelessness.

“Raising taxes isn’t always the answer, Tom,” he pointedly said Tuesday when Steyer pitched a plan to make corporations pay more in property taxes.

Mahan raised more than $13 million in 11 weeks, allowing him to launch television ads to reach voters in some of the most expensive markets in the country. Two independent expenditure groups have spent more than $18 million to boost him.

As of last month, only about 730 donations given to Mahan’s campaign were less than $250, indicating limited grassroots support. In contrast, almost all of Porter’s 46,000 donations were under that amount, as were about 5,600 of those to former state attorney general Xavier Becerra.

Still, voters' support for the other Democratic candidates "is very soft" Mahan said of his chance. “Even if people are leaning a certain way, they’re still persuadable.”

Tech moguls’ support of Mahan’s candidacy and his plans to regulate them were among the most popular topics during a recent “Ask Me Anything” session Mahan hosted on Reddit, where people can ask questions anonymously.

Several people asked when Mahan would drop out to prevent a catastrophic scenario for Democrats where two Republicans could advance to the November election. One asked which Democrat he would endorse after exiting the race.

“I plan to win!” he responded.

Candidates in California's gubernatorial race, from left, Matt Mahan, Xavier Becerra, Chad Bianco, and Steve Hilton look on during a gubernatorial debate hosted by Nexstar Wednesday, April 22, 2026, in San Francisco. (Jason Henry/Pool Photo via AP)

Matt Mahan speaks during a gubernatorial debate hosted by CBS LA at Pomona College in Claremont, Calif., Tuesday, April 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Antonio Villaraigosa, right, and Matt Mahan speak during a California gubernatorial debate hosted by CBS LA at Pomona College in Claremont, Calif., Tuesday, April 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

Matt Mahan speaks with members of the media following a California gubernatorial debate hosted by CBS LA at Pomona College in Claremont, Calif., Tuesday, April 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

TOKYO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 7, 2026--

A path breaking scientific discovery, unraveling successful wound healing mechanism in urethral stricture with BEES-HAUS cell therapy has been reported by Indo-Japan physician-scientists. This milestone achievement in regenerative medicine, yielding clinical safety and efficacy, is the first of its kind, wherein a hybrid approach of mixing two groups of autologous buccal epithelial cells,one cultured in 2D and another in 3D in Festigel scaffold were used in the management of urethral stricture; paracrine effect of IGF-1 produced by 2D-cultured cells and engraftment of 3D-Festigel cultured cells, which cover the urethrotomy wound, together repairing the urothelial defect, has been published in Frontiers in Urology. This feat though modest, is a global first in terms of both in vitro tissue engineering and clinical benefits by in vivo healing, restoring the urothelial integrity and is a giant leap for its potential of yielding stricture recurrence-free good quality of life to patients with voiding problems, opined the researchers.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260506584358/en/

Tissue engineering technologies to create organs in the lab such as urethra have been reported. But long-term recurrence free solution for male urethral stricture remains a challenge. Balloon dilatation or DVIU urethrotomy exposes the sub urothelial tissue to urine which triggers inflammation causing spongiofibrosis and stricture recurrence. Covering the urethrotomy wound, to restore the urothelial integrity of stricture inflicted urethra, currently accomplished by BMG-plasty with a sheet of autologous buccal tissue, in BEES-HAUS procedure is managed with cell transplant for short segment strictures. Further simplified one-step cell transplant ‘ BHES-HAUS’, that doesn’t require cell culture in a lab, yielding encouraging outcome, has been accepted for an interactive presentation at the American Urological Association meeting, AUA 2026.

Inflammatory reaction of urethra provoked by catheterization, instrumentation or infection varies between individuals and some develop urethral stricture. To predict the risks and develop better management strategies, following futuristic research have been initiated:

BEES-HAUS, having been approved in Japan as per Act on Safety of Regenerative Medicine, GN Corporation and Global Niche Corp., USA are open for out-licensing and tech-transfer of BHES-HAUS for clinical translation after approvals worldwide.

Urethral stricture starts with narrowing of a short segment of urethral lumen. At early stages, it is managed by balloon dilatation or DVIU Urethrotomy. The open urethrotomy wound after dilatation or DVIU has to heal from the edges of the wound, which may take a longer time. In BEES-HAUS cell therapy, the cell transplant having proven successful engraftment, covering the urethrotomy wound, yielding clinical safety and efficacy may be considered to be included in the treatment guidelines after validation. Its simplified version, the BHES-HAUS (Buccal epithelium Hashed and Encapsulated in Scaffold—Hybrid Approach to Urethral Stricture) accomplished in one-go without need for cell culture in a lab, works on similar principles. After long term follow-up, BHES-HAUS minimally invasive approach may be worth combining with DVIU and balloon dilatation, as it may be able to provide longer duration of recurrence-free, good quality of life without need for intermittent self-catheterization.