Few tech leaders are pursuing politics
AUSTIN, Texas – Brian Cruver helped invent a successful germ-killing robot and an emergency alert system, and wrote a bestselling book that turned into a TV movie. The tech entrepreneur is accustomed to solving problems, thinking quickly and figuring out what people need.
About a month ago someone asked Cruver if he had considered running for public office.
He had “zero interest.”
Tech innovators already play a large role in our daily lives. People like Apple CEO Tim Cook, Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg’s, X’s Elon Musk and many lesser-known leaders have access to where people go, what they buy, who they talk to, what they read and what makes them laugh.
“Tech leaders are used to working collaboratively and solving complex problems at a quick pace and are equally used to both success and failure. Why would they want to jump (into politics) right now?” said Corey Cook, a longtime political analyst and provost at St. Mary’s College of California. “There’s deep gridlock, extraordinary dysfunction and extreme party polarization that doesn’t bring a lot of optimism.”
Michael Bloomberg was a popular New York City mayor, but the founder of a financial news and data company did not fare well as a Democratic presidential candidate in 2020. Nor did Carly Fiorina, former CEO of tech company Hewlett-Packard, who ran as a Republican in 2016. Nor Andrew Yang, who ran as a Democrat in 2020.
This campaign cycle, two technology experts have entered the national fray. Tech entrepreneur Jason Palmer was a Democratic candidate for president, and philanthropist and lawyer Nicole Shanahan is independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s running mate.
Neither is likely to win, political scientists say. Shanahan is a self-proclaimed “technologist” and research fellow at a Stanford “humanistic coding” institute. Joining the ticket March 26, she told a crowd that as vice president, she would use electronic medical records to better understand and address the chronic health conditions.
Palmer’s electoral high point so far was beating President Joe Biden in the Democratic caucus in American Samoa on Super Tuesday. The 52-year-old claimed 51 votes to Biden’s 40 to win the island’s six delegates.
“I’m the longest of long shots,” admitted Palmer, who has already suspended his campaign to run his initiative TOGETHER!, which includes a political action committee and a fund to support emerging candidates and encourage youth political engagement.
Palmer, who has no prior political experience, told USA TODAY he hoped to use his technological expertise to help the government become modernized, more efficient, and less polarized.
“I do think tech leaders can be great political leaders as we need to leverage the power of technology to upgrade the government,” said Palmer, a partner at a venture capital firm and alumnus of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Microsoft and Kaplan. “We’re decades overdue in creating a more modern government structure.”
For example, Palmer said he would want to create a one-stop shop where Americans could apply for benefits ranging from housing to health care, instead of going through various departments for their needs. He compares the method to aspiring college students using the Common App.
“I’m always telling young entrepreneurs that when you start a company there’s a 95% chance of failure,” Palmer said. “Tech leaders are used to failing regularly and getting up dusting ourselves off and trying again and that’s what I’ve been doing this whole campaign. Politics is hard.”
Behind the curve of innovation
When asked about politics and government, tech leaders had a long list of frustrations.
Pascal Yammine believes tech innovation is the best way to solve real-world problems in real time and said the government should court tech leaders for help.
“There could be a more cohesive strategy. Innovation requires trial and error and I think you don’t see that much in government because of the hurdles you have to go through,” said Yammine, CEO of Zilliant, an Austin, Texas-based startup focused on price optimization.
Yammine said trust in politics has been eroding for at least a decade. When Biden mentioned gun control in his recent State of the Union address, for instance, why didn’t both sides applaud, he wondered aloud.
“We don’t have to always agree, but where are the healthy debates on issues? ... Where are the shared values? The accountability?” Yammine said. “Ultimately, it comes down to getting things done.”
Katina Kenyon, 45, a co-founder of Applaudo, a startup in Austin and El Salvador that provides engineering talent to companies, thinks Washington politicians are unwilling to work collaboratively.
“They create these massive walls of hierarchy that most tech leaders would tap out of before their frustration sets in,” Kenyon said.
Then there’s the pace of government. “Technology moves too fast and the government and Congress act too slow,” Palmer said.
Lawmakers are “behind the curve on the pace of innovation,” Aaron Allsbrook, founder and chief technology officer of ClearBlade, an Austin-based startup that connects smart devices across multiple industries.
Allsbrook said he’s more interested in being a “change agent” by joining advisory boards versus entering politics.
“I feel like I can make a bigger impact here than in politics,” said Allsbrook, 44. “If you were to ask me what drove me to engineering, it’s simple. I like to build and deliver. Deliver.”
Getting something done
The current Congress is the least effective since the Great Depression, with only 34 bills passed since January 2023. That includes a lack of movement on regulating Big Tech, despite high-profile hearings.
“What’s gotten passed in the past year? What’s moving the needle in a meaningful way?” said Cook of St. Mary’s College. “Politics in the U.S. is pretty toxic right now and it discourages people from various walks of life wanting to engage in that way.”
Cook believes political partisanship is so deeply divisive and personal that many tech leaders would rather work on creating policies than run for office.
“Tech folks are risk-takers, and if someone makes it to say, Congress, and can’t get anything done, that’s not rewarding,” Cook said.
But government is eager to have the input of tech leaders – at least some of the time.
Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., whose district includes much of Silicon Valley featuring tech giants worth an estimated $13 trillion of market value, told USA TODAY that input from tech leaders is wanted in many areas including economic growth, labor and software development.
“We need tech leaders to help our government function better,” Khanna said. “We need all of our stakeholders to weigh in on long-term strategies including immigration, national security, AI-generated usage and disclosure, technology regulation and privacy. We need our best tech minds to help keep us ahead.”
Khanna was instrumental in Congress passing 2022’s CHIPS and Science Act, one of the few measures in which lawmakers overcame their differences. The law boosts domestic production of computer chips to potentially avoid future supply chain shortages and heavy reliance on China.
“We’re not building new industries fast enough and we need business and tech leaders to help deliver the outcomes we set,” Khanna said. “Tech leaders are part of the mosaic of a messy democracy.”
‘Never say never’ to running
Ben Chapman, the CEO of Vital Interaction, a health care software startup, often thinks about whether he could improve health care, from costs to accessibility, especially for those who can’t afford it, through public office. He said having three young kids has given him perspective.
“I enjoy being an entrepreneur and running a tech company, but I also fantasize about what being in politics would be like,” said Chapman, 41.
He’s not ruling out any political aspirations. “But, I believe more in innovation versus regulation. I think that’s the fastest way to make changes.”
Similar thoughts ran through the minds of venture capitalists Himalaya Rao-Potlapally, Rachel Wilson and Pilar Concepcion Johnson at a hotel lobby on a late Saturday night after spending the day at South by Southwest.
Politics has been a frequent topic of late for the three friends. Rao-Potlapally, 34, and Wilson, 40, are partners in The BFM Fund, a Portland, Oregon, venture capital firm focused on entrepreneurs from diverse backgrounds. Concepcion Johnson, 34, is a cofounder and managing partner at Debut Capital, a Miami firm investing in Black, Latinx and Indigenous entrepreneurs.
They believe political change starts at the grassroots level. Like most of their peers, the entrepreneurs feel politics is stagnant, especially in D.C. That sense fuels their commitment to helping others within their own communities.
“I don’t need to be a figurehead, I’m not so egodriven where I need to see my face or my name everywhere,” Rao-Potlapally said. “I want to build with the people and for the people, and I think that’s not how current-day politics works.”
Wilson said she might someday consider running for local office, like on a city council or a board. “Never say never,” she said.
Concepcion Johnson nodded and chimed, “If something happens locally that really moves me and connects me to actual people, then maybe. Maybe.”
Rao-Potlapally is ruling out jumping into politics, for now. “We can be a part of any change,” she said. “No matter the roles we have.”