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Nerd surge: Tech execs flock to ballot
High-tech industry executives and entrepreneurs are surging into 2010 House, Senate and governors’ races, sensing that a punishing recession has created an electorate hungry for outsider candidates with management and job creation expertise.
Some of these would-be politicians are leaving companies at the pinnacle of their careers, some are the bored rich who are ready for the next big challenge, and some have dabbled in public service but are now looking to dive in full time.
In almost every case, their ability to pour large sums of their own money into the contest makes them competitive enough to warrant notice.
“Who better to start with than a group of hyper-ambitious men and women with millions of dollars burning a hole in their pocket, all looking for the next big thing to do in their life?” said Bill Whalen, an expert on state and national politics at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution. “These are all people who have achieved and overachieved.”
Jack McDonald, a Democratic House candidate in Texas who until recently ran a 1,200-employee information technology consulting firm, said it was local business leaders who urged him to run.
“I’ve had a good run in business,” said McDonald, who is challenging incumbent Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas). “What I’ve heard from people is that we need to get folks with real world experience involved. The problems that we face are too big to leave to career politicians of either party.”
McDonald is joined by likeminded hopefuls in at least a dozen states across the country.
These high-tech execs-turned-candidates told POLITICO they believed the economic slump that has endangered the political fortunes of many incumbents might actually boost their own.
“I think it’s no coincidence that business people are beginning to step up and want to apply their skills to politics,” said Steve Poizner, a Republican candidate for governor of California and a former Silicon Valley entrepreneur.
Poizner, the state’s elected insurance commissioner who spent two decades running technology companies before entering politics, said that although the transition from the private sector to public life can be jarring, it’s one that more and more tech executives are willing to make.
“It all fits together really,” Poizner said. “People who are good at innovation, people who are entrepreneurial would naturally believe they have the skills and the vision to try to get their states back on track.”
Poizner said he was driven to run for office by the fact that “California is a fantastic state that was heading off a cliff.” Now he’s asking voters to elect him, in part on his track record in the business world.
The same can be said of Poizner’s main rival in the GOP gubernatorial primary, Meg Whitman, the billionaire former eBay CEO. She is perhaps the most prominent high-tech executive to launch a political career this year, along with the ex-CEO of Hewlett Packard, Carly Fiorina, who is a potential challenger to Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.).
Whitman has already poured $19 million of her own money into the race, and earlier this month she pledged to contribute $250,000 to the state GOP for voter registration efforts. Fiorina, who has not officially announced her candidacy, also has a significant personal fortune at her disposal—a critical asset in a large and expensive state like California.
In neighboring Oregon, Allen Alley, the former CEO of a global semi-conductor company and venture capitalist, is vying for the Republican nomination for governor. Alley said that he finds running a startup company and running a political campaign to be “amazingly similar” endeavors.
“You start out with an idea, you have no brand awareness, no name recognition,” he said. “You get people to believe in your idea and hopefully you can convince them that you’ve got the right product at the right time.”
High-tech industry executives and entrepreneurs are surging into 2010 House, Senate and governors’ races, sensing that a punishing recession has created an electorate hungry for outsider candidates with management and job creation expertise.
Some of these would-be politicians are leaving companies at the pinnacle of their careers, some are the bored rich who are ready for the next big challenge, and some have dabbled in public service but are now looking to dive in full time.
In almost every case, their ability to pour large sums of their own money into the contest makes them competitive enough to warrant notice.
“Who better to start with than a group of hyper-ambitious men and women with millions of dollars burning a hole in their pocket, all looking for the next big thing to do in their life?” said Bill Whalen, an expert on state and national politics at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution. “These are all people who have achieved and overachieved.”
Jack McDonald, a Democratic House candidate in Texas who until recently ran a 1,200-employee information technology consulting firm, said it was local business leaders who urged him to run.
“I’ve had a good run in business,” said McDonald, who is challenging incumbent Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas). “What I’ve heard from people is that we need to get folks with real world experience involved. The problems that we face are too big to leave to career politicians of either party.”
McDonald is joined by likeminded hopefuls in at least a dozen states across the country.
These high-tech execs-turned-candidates told POLITICO they believed the economic slump that has endangered the political fortunes of many incumbents might actually boost their own.
“I think it’s no coincidence that business people are beginning to step up and want to apply their skills to politics,” said Steve Poizner, a Republican candidate for governor of California and a former Silicon Valley entrepreneur.
Poizner, the state’s elected insurance commissioner who spent two decades running technology companies before entering politics, said that although the transition from the private sector to public life can be jarring, it’s one that more and more tech executives are willing to make.
“It all fits together really,” Poizner said. “People who are good at innovation, people who are entrepreneurial would naturally believe they have the skills and the vision to try to get their states back on track.”
Poizner said he was driven to run for office by the fact that “California is a fantastic state that was heading off a cliff.” Now he’s asking voters to elect him, in part on his track record in the business world.
The same can be said of Poizner’s main rival in the GOP gubernatorial primary, Meg Whitman, the billionaire former eBay CEO. She is perhaps the most prominent high-tech executive to launch a political career this year, along with the ex-CEO of Hewlett Packard, Carly Fiorina, who is a potential challenger to Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.).
Whitman has already poured $19 million of her own money into the race, and earlier this month she pledged to contribute $250,000 to the state GOP for voter registration efforts. Fiorina, who has not officially announced her candidacy, also has a significant personal fortune at her disposal—a critical asset in a large and expensive state like California.
In neighboring Oregon, Allen Alley, the former CEO of a global semi-conductor company and venture capitalist, is vying for the Republican nomination for governor. Alley said that he finds running a startup company and running a political campaign to be “amazingly similar” endeavors.
“You start out with an idea, you have no brand awareness, no name recognition,” he said. “You get people to believe in your idea and hopefully you can convince them that you’ve got the right product at the right time.”
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