Tough-on-crime mayor and vocal Newsom critic to run for California governor

San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan has sent shockwaves through the California governor’s race on Thursday by announcing a surprise bid for the state’s top job.

Mahan, 43, a tough-on-crime Dem from the heart of Silicon Valley, said he’s running because the state needs to do better on affordability, homelessness and crime — while distancing himself from Gov. Gavin Newsom, whom he’s accused of chasing national profile rather than delivering results for everyday Californians.

”My primary focus is not going to be on internet trolling,” Mahan told Politico in a Thursday interview, in a pointed reference to Newsom’s X feed.

”The best resistance is delivering results and showing that states and cities with progressive values can deliver safety, a high quality of life, and economic opportunity”.
ahan traded catty tweets with Newsom’s press team this month over homeless funding. The antipathy appears to go both ways.

The governor was dismissive of Mahan’s bid on Thursday, telling a Bloomberg Newsmakers conference: ”I don’t know enough about him,” when asked his campaign.

Mahan is former tech entrepreneur who co-founded the organizing platform Brigade after being encouraged by Mark Zuckerberg at Harvard. He represents California’s third-largest city and has focused much of his work on addressing homelessness and drug addiction. He has two children with wife Silvia‑Wedad Scandar Mahan and grew up in Watsonville, an hour south San Jose.

His signature policies include a ‘tiny homes’ project for homeless people, expanding police resources and expediting housing development in the pricey San Jose area. He has been credited with reducing homelessness by 20% during his tenure — from nearly 5,000 people in 2022 to about 3,959 as of late 2025.

”We need to fix California, and I know that we can because we’re proving it in San Jose,” Mahan told the San Francisco Chronicle.

Mahan’s last-minute bid ahead of a February filing deadline quickly won the support of business titans like Rick Caruso, the mall developer who considered his own bid for governor before opting out for family reasons, and Garry Tan of Y Combinator.

”California desperately needs this. Not more vibes. Not more trolling. Result (results),” Tan wrote on X.

Mahan joins a crowded field of candidates for governor, including lefty Democrats like former congresswoman Katie Porter and Eric Swalwell, as well as Republicans Steve Hilton, former Fox News host, and Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco.

Porter and Swalwell are the top Democratic contenders, but none have come close to winning a plurality of voters in deep-blue California.

Others like ex-LA mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and billionaire Tom Steyer have splintered the underwhelming field, with recent polls showing at least one-third of voters are still undecided.

While Mahan isn’t well known outside the Bay Area, his deep Silicon Valley ties have put him in a strong position to raise campaign money.

A frequent critic of the Sacramento status quo that he says has failed residents on housing and affordability, Mahan has often clashed with Newsom as he ramped up his expected presidential run.

”It’s a moment for someone who’s a fighter for our values and a fixer of our problems,” Mahan, a moderate Democrat and outspoken critic of the current governor, told Politico. ‘I am different from every other candidate in this race.’

Mahan and Newsom were at odds over Prop. 36, a popular voter initiative that increased penalties for drug and theft crimes.

Mahan backed the measure, while Newsom has avoided funding the prop, which passed with nearly 70% of votes.

Caruso — who ran for Los Angeles mayor in 2022 and has since ruled out running again for that office or for California governor — welcomed Mahan’s announcement and called him his good friend.

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”California needs to get on the right track. I have encouraged him to run, and I’m delighted he is entering the race,” the Republican-turned-Democrat real estate tycoon wrote on X.