Tech Elites Plot To Primary Populist Democrat Who Called For Wealth Tax

Silicon Valley tech moguls are threatening to primary Democratic California Rep. Ro Khanna following his support for a proposal to tax the Golden State’s wealthiest residents.

The proposal — which requires 874,641 signatures to be placed on the ballot in 2026 — is a one-time 5% tax on residents with net worths exceeding $1 billion, which some supporters say could help offset federal funding cuts for healthcare. Venture capitalists such as Martin Casado and Garry Tan on Saturday claimed Khanna was pushing away moderates who had supported him in the past, and called for him to be primaried in the upcoming midterm elections.

“Ro has done a speed run alienating every moderate I know who has supported him. Including myself. Beyond being totally out of touch with that faction of his base, he’s devolved into an obnoxious jerk,” Casado said on social media. “At least that makes voting him the fuck out all the more gratifying.”

Khanna has represented the state’s 17th Congressional District in the heart of Silicon Valley since 2017 and has long raked in support from tech leaders and donors in the district.

Roughly 200 billionaires in the state would have to pay the tax, leading Khanna to refer to it as a 1% tax which could garner roughly $100 billion in revenue. Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom rebuked the policy proposal at The New York Times DealBook conference on Dec.3, surprising fellow Democrats as well as major unions who support the measure.

“It’s not something to be panicked about, but it’s part of the broader concern and narrative that’s developed in this country of the haves and have-nots, not just income inequality, but wealth inequality,” Newsom said. “We all want to be protected, we all want to be respected, we all want to be connected to something bigger than ourselves. We have fundamental values that I think define our party, about social justice, economic justice.”

The Democrat is also raising money for a committee to oppose the measure, The New York Times reported.

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Google co-founder Larry Page and Peter Thiel, an ally of President Donald Trump and owner of an investment firm in Los Angeles, are also considering removing business from the state in response to the tax, according to the outlet.

Palmer Luckey, co-founder of the defense tech company Anduril, said founders would have to sell chunks of their startups to pay for the tax, which he describes as “fraud, waste and political favors for the organizations pushing this ballot initiative.”

“I made my money from my first company, paid hundreds of millions of dollars in taxes on it, used the remainder to start a second company that employs six thousand people and now me and my cofounders have to somehow come up with billions of dollars in cash,” Luckey wrote on X.

Khanna elevated his name recognition throughout 2025 by championing the release of the Epstein Files alongside Republican Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie. He also chaired independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders’ 2020 presidential campaign and embarked on his own “Benefits Over Billionaires” tour in March.

The tour expanded far past the Golden State and included stops in states such as South Carolina and New Hampshire, prompting some to wonder if he was building groundwork for a future presidential run.

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