Overview
- Mahan’s first-week haul reached roughly $7 million, with campaign filings listing $2.1 million from 47 large donors, many tied to Silicon Valley.
- Google co-founder Sergey Brin, Palantir’s Joe Lonsdale, Y Combinator’s Garry Tan, Roblox CEO David Baszucki and developer Rick Caruso are among those who made maximum contributions of about $78,400 each.
- Independent expenditure committee California Back to Basics has raised about $3.2 million and spent $1.5 million on a Super Bowl spot promoting Mahan.
- Top backers of the independent committee include Michael Seibel ($1 million), Marc and Ashley Merrill ($510,000 each), Neil Mehta ($500,000), Brian Singerman ($250,000) and Dick Wolf ($250,000).
- The outside committee cannot coordinate with Mahan’s campaign and is distinct from a Back to Basics 501(c)(4) advocacy group that does not disclose donors, while rivals criticize his reliance on billionaire and tech money and his opposition to a proposed wealth tax.