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| Tech industry is trying out its |
| Tech industry is trying out its election muscle
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| UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
, 6-February-2014
2:41:38 AM |
| Here in the land of technology startups, Ro Khanna is its political version. Backed by many of Silicon Valley's top investors and executives at Google, Facebook, Yahoo and other tech companies, Khanna, a 37-year-old patent lawyer who has never held elected office, has mounted an aggressive campaign for the seat from the 17th Congressional District in the heart of the valley.
Khanna's ambitions, and those of the tech elite behind him, are clear. A Democrat, Khanna is trying to oust a fellow Democrat, Rep. Michael M. Honda, who remains popular after seven terms and has been endorsed by President Barack Obama and the rest of the Democratic establishment. Using the jargon of tech startups, Khanna says he will be a "disruptive" force in Washington.
Thanks to tech's support, Khanna has significantly outraised Honda. Four months before the primary, the challenger has $1,975,000 in cash on hand, or more than triple the incumbent's $623,000, according to campaign finance records filed last Friday.
Whether or not this political startup is ultimately successful, Khanna's campaign underscores the tech industry's push to elect candidates who will further its interests in Washington, even if that means, as in this race, trying to replace a party stalwart with a relative unknown.
A liberal, pro-labor Democrat with a passion for civil rights, Honda, 72, is generally regarded as being on the side of the tech industry, but not as aggressive a champion as other congressmen in the region.
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