Shortly after, The New York Times reported<\/a> Mahan\u2019s supporters pitching an \u201call or nothing\u201d fundraising effort to raise $35 million in an escrow account by April 17 \u2014 or all donors would get their money back. Both stories reported on tensions in Mahan\u2019s circle about the direction of the campaign.<\/p>\n A common source of the pain has been the mayor\u2019s late entry, which he teased in the weeks and months leading up to his announcement<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThe problem is they wanted to spend a bunch of money toward the end \u2014 but you\u2019re out of time. Ballots drop in four, five weeks,\u201d one source close to the campaign, who asked for anonymity in order to speak freely, told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight.<\/p>\n The source bemoaned Mahan being saddled with a \u201cbillionaire puppet\u201d moniker early on in the race. Mahan has raised $12 million so far from Silicon Valley elites<\/a> such as Google co-founder Sergey Brin, Palantir co-founder Joe Lonsdale and YCombinator CEO Garry Tan \u2014 who have all maxed out their legally-allowed contributions at $78,400 each. About $15 million has been raised to support Mahan through outside groups, namely an independent committee that dropped $1.5 million on a Super Bowl ad<\/a> paid for by venture capitalists.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd that really stuck,\u201d the source said. \u201cThe irony is that you have an actual billionaire in the race. Eric wanted to save money toward the last push and you needed to spend money early on to combat that stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n Neither Jaye nor Mahan responded to requests for comment.<\/p>\n Steve Maviglio, a Sacramento political consultant who has worked with Jaye on several projects, said he spoke with the departed consultant in recent weeks.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s clear to me his strategy was to hold your fire until you see the whites of their eyes, and that didn\u2019t jive with what others on that campaign were thinking,\u201d Maviglio told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight. \u201cIt\u2019s a signal of trouble \u2014 of being unsure of the direction to go in. To make a split like that is typically not a positive sign.\u201d<\/p>\n Though he rejects the notion these shake-ups are a cue for the San Jose mayor to drop out of the race \u2014 amid calls from the state Democratic Party for low-polling candidates such as Mahan to do so<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s the Sacramento bubble talking,\u201d Maviglio said. \u201cAt some point he\u2019s gotta say, \u2018My numbers aren\u2019t moving, do I want to cut my losses?\u2019 But this race is still completely up for grabs. I haven\u2019t got a single piece of mail at my house. Most people \u2014 real people \u2014 are worried about other things at the moment.\u201d<\/p>\n It comes after Congressman Eric Swalwell dropped out of the gubernatorial race<\/a> following allegations of sexual assault. Mahan\u2019s supporters have taken to social media to boost the mayor\u2019s name<\/a> amid the departure of Swalwell, who has been considered a frontrunner in the race. Mahan has polled well below other frontrunner candidates such as billionaire Tom Steyer and former Congresswoman Katie Porter.<\/p>\n Other candidates include former Fox News host Steve Hilton, who has been endorsed by President Donald Trump, Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco, former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaigrosa, State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond and former State Controller Betty Yee.<\/p>\n In public messaging, Mahan has sought to peel off people from the extremes of both political parties, galvanizing voters in the middle.<\/p>\n \u201cThat was an unrealistic expectation on their part,\u201d Maviglio said. \u201cI think the June primary voter is a more partisan voter than you\u2019ll find in November. You have people that are more emphatic in their philosophies and political parties. And I think he was really hobbled by getting in so late.\u201d<\/p>\n
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