Ethan Agarwal launches primary challenge against Ro Khanna

On Tuesday, 40-year-old tech entrepreneur Ethan Agarwal officially entered the race for California’s 17th congressional district—the Silicon Valley seat held by 49-year-old incumbent Ro Khanna. Agarwal, who told TechCrunch on Monday evening that he is running, sets up a primary challenge for the 2026 cycle that is likely to be lavishly funded. The contest is driven by tech industry opposition to Khanna’s support for a 5% annual wealth tax—a tax on net worth—on Americans worth $1 billion or more. Khanna and Senator Bernie Sanders introduced the legislation, which their offices estimate would raise $4.4 trillion over a decade. Agarwal has proposed alternatives, including taxing loans taken out against assets and considering increases to California’s capital gains rate, which is currently 13.4% on profit from asset sales.

Agarwal’s campaign is drawing support from tech figures including Y Combinator CEO Garry Tan and DoorDash co-founder Stanley Tang. However, their involvement will likely fuel a line of attack that Agarwal is a “vehicle for billionaire grievances.” Agarwal, whose father arrived in the US making $14,000 a year, has committed “110% of my life” to the campaign, shifting focus after planning to run for governor of California last July. “I realized I could have more impact running in the 17th district and unseating Ro,” Agarwal said.

Agarwal’s platform focuses on banning congressional stock trading and self-imposing a limit of five terms. He has accused Khanna of being a prolific stock trader, pointing to 4,000 trades made last year. Khanna maintains he does not personally own or trade individual stocks, stating the trades belong to his wife’s independently managed trust. The dynamic recalls Khanna’s own 2014 run, when he was backed by tech figures like Marc Andreessen, Sheryl Sandberg, and Eric Schmidt, and was labeled an “owned man” by critics before winning the seat in 2016.

The race also highlights federal tech policy. Regarding Section 230—the US law shielding platforms from liability—Agarwal opposes making social media companies entirely liable for user posts, though he supports revisiting it for teenage mental health. On AI, Agarwal frames regulation around national security competition with China, arguing America must build the most powerful models. While he opposes limiting model development, he expressed openness to an independent, FDA-style regulatory model for AI if it strengthens national security. He also noted that prediction markets regulated by the CFTC currently have “pretty good” regulation.

Why it matters

Ethan Agarwal’s entry into the 17th congressional district race sets up a high-profile challenge to incumbent Ro Khanna, driven by tech industry opposition to Khanna’s support for wealth taxes.