Group of about 1,200 tech workers signs letter backing Kamala Harris

By Sarah McBride

A group of about 1,200 technology workers have pledged to back Kamala Harris’ presidential bid — part of an effort to show wide industry support for Democrats in Silicon Valley, outside of its most vocal investor class. 

Tech4Kamala plans to unveil the signatories of a letter supporting Harris late Thursday night, it told Bloomberg. The letter called Harris an “archetypical innovator” and “champion of technology” who “worked to expand access to STEM education, promote entrepreneurship and close the digital equity gap.”

Although people who signed on did so in their personal capacities, not as representatives of their employers, they work for several major tech companies, including Apple Inc., Meta Platforms Inc. and Salesforce Inc. The list of names also includes freelancers, founders, VCs and people who work in technology-adjacent fields such as law and real estate.

“We have an incredible opportunity to mobilize our community of over 7 million tech workers to show that our industry is not just about a handful of billionaires, but about the collective power of tech professionals,” said Shannon Nash, one of the organizers of the letter. 

Nash is chief financial officer of a drone company. Other organizers are communications executive Edda Collins Coleman, entrepreneur Julia Collins and human relations executive Felicia Mayo.

The letter appears as a group of more than 700 venture capitalists and investors have released their own letter backing Harris, while another set of VCs has thrown their support to former President Donald Trump. While the industry has historically leaned left, a vocal contingent of conservatives in Silicon Valley this election cycle including Elon Musk, investor David Sacks and Sequoia Partner Shaun Maguire have written checks to Harris’ opponent.

The groups Tech4Kamala and VCs for Kamala will work together to host a mixer for Harris in Chicago on Aug. 21, organisers said.