Big Tech split on support for Harris election bid

Employees trend towards democratic nominee while donors are more split over stance on regulation

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Kamala Harris. Image: White House

The only televised debate in the US presidential election takes place tonight with Republican candidate and former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris neck-and-neck in the polls. The 90-minute debate will take place on TV network ABC without an audience and will use muted microphones, allowing both participants to make their points without interruption, all points the Trump campaign has railed against.

The clash between prosecutor (Harris) and felon (Trump) has been the dominant narrative but Big Tech has its own drama playing out in the background as entrepreneurs go cold on the former’s promise to regulate the sector and warm to latter’s promise to cut taxes and regulations. However, its not a position played out at all levels.

Employees of many of the largest US technology companies are overwhelmingly supporting Harris. Alphabet (parent company of Google), Amazon and Microsoft alone are contributing millions of dollars to her campaign in this way, according to figures from the political watchdog OpenSecrets.

Companies themselves cannot donate directly to federal campaigns.

In contrast, several tech billionaires have pledged their support to Donald Trump this time around, including Elon Musk and venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz co-founders Marc Andreessen and Ben Horowitz. Their choice seems determined by the Biden administration’s Big Tech stance, which launched an attack on mergers and acquisitions.

On the contrary, venture capitalist Reid Hoffman of Greylock and entrepreneur Mark Cuban are backing Harris.

The debate between Harris and Trump will take place at 3am Irish time and will be broadcast on this side of the Atlantic by BBC News, Channel 4 and Sky News.

Read More: Big Tech Donald Trump Kamala Harris