You might have seen some political buzz over Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp's pick for Kelly Loeffler as interim U.S. senator, against the suggestion of President Donald Trump's endorsement for the position.
But what you might not know is how connected Loeffler is in the tech world, and what her new position in the Senate could mean for business.
Loeffler, who was formally announced as the replacement for Sen. Johnny Isakson, is a co-owner of Atlanta's WNBA team the Atlanta Dream and the founding CEO of Atlanta-based cryptocurrency company Bakkt. Loeffler will assume the position on Jan. 1.
Bakkt, founded last year, is a subsidiary of the New York Stock Exchange’s parent company ICE and made headlines earlier this year when the company raised $182 million, a rather large round for an industry battered with skepticism and failure. Even more significant than the funding amount was the investors behind the deal --- including ICE, Microsoft, Starbucks, Boston Consulting Group and other blockchain industry investors. Major players are betting big bucks on Bitcoin, and they're using Bakkt to do it. Since its inception, Bakkt has seen some success, including record interest and plans to launch a consumer-facing app in 2020.
As a conservative, Loeffler is unlike many of her large tech corporate founders. A survey published in 2017 found that a sweeping majority of tech entrepreneurs are Democrats. Like the stereotype of Silicon Valley politics, most tech entrepreneurs voted for Hillary Clinton in the 2016 Presidential election, they claim to be democrats, they support social causes like same-sex marriage and higher taxes for the upper class. However, many of the elite tech entrepreneurs interviewed had differing opinions on whether regulation is effective and their thoughts on unions being a good driver for the economy.
Loeffler's political ideology, which she describes as "lifelong conservative, pro-Second Amendment, pro-military, pro-wall and pro-Trump," is rare in the tech world, as tensions between the country's tech giants and Congress tighten.
"And I make no apologies for my conservative values and will proudly support President Trump's conservative judges," Loeffler said in a statement, following the announcement of her appointment.
Trump supporters have criticized Kemp's choice, claiming Loefller's politics are too tame for conservatism, given past donations to Mitt Romney and a connection to former Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams, who did legal work for the Atlanta Dream. The president reportedly wanted Kemp to appoint Rep. Doug Collins, the top Republican on the House Judiciary Committee, for the position. After Trump gave Kemp an unexpected endorsement in the Republican primary for Georgia's close gubernatorial race last year, many conservatives are calling Kemp's choice a "betrayal."
Regardless of the reaction from some Republican circles, Loeffler will head to the Senate in 2020. So what could it mean for a conservative tech founder like Loeffler to join Congress?
The position will be Loeffler's first experience in politics --- her background is in IR and marketing at ICE. She is also married to the CEO of ICE, Mr. Jeff Sprecher. Given the nature of Congress inquiries into digital platforms, big data and privacy involving tech giants such as Facebook, Google and Twitter, many on the tech side are hoping Loeffler can serve as a middleman between the Valley and the Capital. Her interim position won't allow her much sway in Congress, but her expertise in the industry could help senators better understand the current state of tech affairs.
If Loeffler decides she'd like to keep her position, she will have to run for the Senate seat in a special election in 2020 and again for a full six-year Senate term in 2022. If she were to win both elections, she would be Georgia's first elected woman to the Senate.
