Republicans' crush on Silicon Valley not returned

John Ellis Bush gushed with love for Silicon Valley, hanging in the offices of Thumbtack, causing a spectacle with his pre-announced Uber hail, and flashing around his Apple Watch, as he talked about how Washington needs to learn a few things from the Silicon Valley way. It’s not really a mutual relationship.

Despite Republican candidates’ high-profile outreach to the Bay Area, most tech industry bigwigs are throwing cash at Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton. By contrast, Bush, Sen Marco Rubio (R-FL) and Sen Rand Paul (R-KY) collected just a handful of donations from Valley elite. The Republicans did receive support from many lower-level Silicon Valley employees, particularly Sen Paul, who attracted a large number of small dollar donations. All three GOP candidates have sought to make inroads in the region with a message of keeping government from getting in the way of innovation.