Hey all, Teddy Schleifer here.

Today I have the story of the political ascendance of Erica and Jeff Lawson. At a time when many Silicon Valley leaders are engaging less in politics than they were 12 or 24 months ago, the Lawsons are among the few mega-donors doing precisely the opposite—and that’s why it’s a fascinating window into the Democratic moneyworld right now. And stick around through the entire story to read more about a new $60 million push from Democratic operatives to elect “pro-democracy” candidates.

If you haven’t yet subscribed, today’s piece is hopefully a great kick in the tuchus to do so. If you have already subscribed, thank so much for your support. You can encourage a friend to sign up for this list at the link here.

Teddy

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Mini-Benioff Makes His Mega-Play

Behind the scenes, Twilio C.E.O. Jeff Lawson and his wife Erica have been making strategic moves in the big-money world of Democratic politics. This is the inside story of their first major project.

For more than two decades, Marc Benioff has towered over Silicon Valley politics as an iconic statesman-C.E.O., personifying a new model for compassionate-and-issues-based mega-capitalists who viewed their corporation as not merely commercial organisms but vessels for political combat. Over the years, Benioff has been eager to wade into policy battles in places like Indiana (LGBT discrimination) and Texas (abortion restrictions) that have nothing to do with Salesforce’s cloud-computing business but are part of his personal moral crusade.

Back in San Francisco, Benioff bent the ear of the city’s leaders and became an unofficial spokesman for its business elite, all the while dousing local institutions with a fusion of personal and corporate philanthropy. (The lines could be blurry.) Meanwhile, far from home, he relished his role as a familiar denizen of CNBC sets and Davos chalets, becoming one of the most outspoken voices for a rejiggered capitalism and, without a doubt, basking in the public mahalo that came with it. Benioff was the architect of the corporate zeitgeist’s modern form of social activism. 

Then, in late 2019, Benioff quietly seemed to take a step backwards. Having bought Time with his wife Lynne, Benioff told me that he was swearing off political donations, and some parts of his hyper-charged brand of political activism, out of a desire to remain non-partisan. (That explanation, I should note, has never really made any sense to many insiders in politics, media or tech, who frequently have told me they don’t buy it. Someone introduce him to Laurene Powell Jobs or Mike Bloomberg!) Nevertheless, Benioff abdicated the throne, creating something of a leadership vacuum in the post-Trump Silicon Valley political milieu...

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