Ethan Agarwal, who launched a brief bid for California governor last year, announced last week that he was jumping into the Democratic primary to represent the Golden State's 17th Congressional District.
He is joining the race as Khanna's support among wealthy Silicon Valley leaders has waned since he backed a proposed ballot initiative that would hit the state's billionaires with a one-time 5 percent tax.
"It's certainly going to be an uphill battle," California Democratic strategist Steven Maviglio said of Agarwal's bid. "Ro Khanna is a nationally recognized figure with a household name well beyond his congressional district, and he has a massive war chest. And that is a very difficult fight."
Khanna first secured his seat in Congress in 2016 with the backing of Silicon Valley and has long been viewed as a tech-friendly Democrat.
However, Khanna has rattled the industry with his recent support of the wealth tax and dismissive comments toward several prominent tech billionaires who are planning to leave his state.
Following a report that venture capitalist Peter Thiel and Google co-founder Larry Page were making moves to depart from California in late December, Khanna wrote in a post on X, "I echo what FDR said with sarcasm of economic royalists when they threatened to leave, 'I will miss them very much.'"
The congressman further explained his position on the proposed wealth tax in a separate post, arguing that "AI was created with our tax dollars" given the federal funding that has flowed to researchers through the California university system.
"America's central challenge is to make sure the AI revolution works for all of us, not just tech billionaires," Khanna wrote at the time. "So yes a billionaire tax is good for American innovation which depends on a strong and thriving American democracy."
Supporters of the tax are still obtaining signatures to secure its place on the California ballot in November. If approved, it would implement a one-time 5 percent tax on the state's wealthiest residents to help state health care, food assistance and education programs.
The proposal has divided California Democrats, putting Khanna at odds with Gov. Gavin Newsom, one of the leading contenders for the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination.
Check out the full report at TheHill.com.
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