You’d be forgiven for never having heard of Karla Jurvetson before this year. But the California liberal donor is quickly losing her anonymity as she’s now one of the top contributors to Democrats. She made her first real splash in politics during the 2018 midterms, and in 2020, she ranks within the top individual political donors of the cycle, according to Open Secrets.
Undoubtedly the biggest story for Jurvetson this year was her donation supporting Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s campaign for president. Jurvetson gave $14.6 million to Persist PAC, which was formed in early 2020 ahead of the Democratic primaries to help Warren with ads. The progressive senator was quickly criticized as hypocritical since she’d previously pledged she “won’t take a dime of PAC money.” Reporters got wind of the PAC’s activity from the ad buys, but didn’t learn Jurvetson was the donor until the campaign filing became public in March—sending the political journalism world scrambling to learn all they could about her. Jurvetson hasn’t commented publicly on the donation.
Outside of the presidential race, Jurvetson was incredibly busy with her donating this year. Followthemoney.com donor records show she gave small gifts to more than 500 races this year across the country, ranging from congressional contests to state-level races. She gave $3.9 million to Forward Majority Action, a PAC focused on winning state-level contests, and $1 million to Unite the Country, a Biden-supporting PAC. Jurvetson also gave a series of smaller gifts to groups like Swing Left and Fair Fight.
It wasn’t long ago that Karla Jurvetson was just a California doctor with no national press attention. A Palo Alto native, she attended Stanford University for undergrad, where she met Steve Jurvetson, who would eventually become a leading Silicon Valley investor. The two married in 1990 and were together until 2016—sordid details about Steve’s infidelity and other allegations would reach the press in the following years.
Karla works as a psychiatrist with a private practice in Los Altos, California, and while she certainly wasn’t a mega-donor before 2018, public records show she’s been a committed Democrat for two decades. FEC records show Jurvetson has for years made small gifts to a variety of Democrats, mostly in California, with a handful of five-figure gifts going to the DNC and to support Sen. Barbara Boxer.
In recent years, Jurvetson has shifted into an entirely new gear. She first made headlines during the 2018 cycle, after her $6.9 million in donations to Democrats and liberal causes thrust her into the top of the Democratic donor ranks. She told the Mercury News at the time that President Donald Trump’s election inspired her to get deeper into politics and she’s been committed in particular to getting women elected. Her campaign volunteer history includes canvassing for California Rep. Anna Eshoo, knocking doors for Hillary Clinton’s presidential runs, and in 2018, she gave $5.4 million to Women Vote! (a gift delivered in the form of stocks), the fundraising arm of Emily’s List, where Jurvetson is currently a board member. In 2019, she hosted a $10,000-minimum DNC fundraiser at her home with President Barack Obama and DNC Chair Tom Perez.
Jurvetson could not be reached for comment on this article and hasn’t given many interviews, so it’s hard to say what’s next for her. But, given her history, it seems safe to assume she’ll continue to direct her donations to women running for office and work to help progressives regain power around the country.