Good morning, Broadsheet readers! Taylor Swift receives a shout-out from the Fed, the world loses a fashion icon, and Lexi Reese tells Fortune editor-at-large Michal Lev-Ram why she left tech to enter a crowded Senate race. Have a thoughtful Monday.
– The hot seat. For nearly three decades, Lexi Reese, 48, has led a successful career in the tech industry, playing key roles on the sales, marketing, and operations side at companies like Google. But she’s putting it all on pause to enter one of the most watched (and most expensive) political races in recent history: the contest to replace California’s retiring senator, Democrat Dianne Feinstein.
“Our economy is a hot mess,” Reese told me when I asked her why she would do such a thing. “I know we have the tools to fix it, and I know that if we bring in someone new who can work with lots of people, even if they think differently from them, that we have a shot of securing a better future for our kids.”
If that sounds like a bunch of political platitudes, it is and it isn’t. Reese’s gripes with the nation’s most populous state certainly aren’t unique, but some of her suggested approaches to fixing them are differentiated—and, she says, stem directly from her experience in the tech industry, and in particular her focus on marketing tools to small and medium businesses. (Her last gig was as chief operating officer of HR software developer Gusto.) During a phone call with me on Saturday, Reese outlined some of those proposed policies, which she believes should come from the federal government. They include creating a “small business prosperity package” that would eliminate “onerous rules and regulatory burdens” and providing “human capital tax credits” that she says would incentivize businesses to provide health care, child care, and elder care benefits to their employees.
Reese has a proven track record in the tech industry. But she’s a total outsider in the political realm, and has entered a race with not one but three established Democratic politicians: U.S. Reps. Barbara Lee, Katie Porter, and Adam Schiff. And she’s got a lot of catching up to do when it comes to fundraising, having just kicked off her campaign in late June.
So far, Reese has raised $1.3 million, $284,000 of which were her own contributions, according to the most up-to-date numbers from her campaign. But that’s not much compared to some of the other Democratic candidates—Schiff, for example, raised $8.1 million in the second quarter of 2023, which brings his campaign’s total cash-on-hand to $29.5 million, the most raised by a Democratic Senate candidate in the second quarter of an off-year ever. But Reese told me she isn’t put off by the numbers.
“I consider this our Series A,” says Reese, who says she is looking at her campaign like a startup. All of that Silicon Valley-speak isn’t just for show: The former Googler says the Senate needs someone who can “go toe-to-toe with technology companies” and has a deep understanding of “the fundamental monetization engines that power the internet today.”
It’s a long shot, but Reese is optimistic and clear-eyed about the cost of trying: “If I have a shot at using my resources and my skills to be able to create change, then I’m going to do it. Or get really beat up trying.”
Speaking of California…The Fortune Most Powerful Women Summit is coming up, Oct. 9-11 in Laguna Niguel, Calif. Confirmed speakers include CEOs Beth Ford of Land O’Lakes, Karen Lynch of CVS Health, Valerie Jarrett of the Barack Obama Foundation, Kath McLay of Sam’s Club, Kate Ryder of Maven, Fidji Simo of Instacart, Linda Yaccarino of Twitter, and many more. For additional information and to apply to register, click here.
Michal Lev-Ram
michal.levram@fortune.com
@mlevram
The Broadsheet is Fortune’s newsletter for and about the world’s most powerful women. Today’s Edition was curated by Joseph Abrams. Subscribe here.
ALSO IN THE HEADLINES
- Fed Swifties. Taylor Swift received a big shout-out from the Fed last week thanks to the fans and financial enterprises her ongoing “Eras” tour attracts at each stop. The Fed specifically highlighted the economic impact her stint in Philadelphia had on the local economy, claiming that May—when Swift played three concerts in the area—was the strongest month for hotel revenue in the city since the pandemic. Markets Insider
- RIP to an icon. Actress and singer Jane Birkin, whose effortless style defined French chic for decades, died on Sunday at 76. The British-born Birkin inspired Hermès' handbag by the same name; she was "a French icon because she was the incarnation of freedom," French President Emmanuel Macron said. Fortune
- White House exit. Louisa Terrell, White House director of legislative affairs and longtime aide to President Joe Biden, plans to leave the White House at the end of this month. Terrell has worked alongside Biden for two decades and has been an essential player in filling cabinet seats, selecting judicial nominations, and working with Congress since the president took office. CNN
- France hesitates. France Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna is asking the EU to reconsider its nomination of Yale professor Fiona Scott Morton, an American and former Big Tech consultant, for chief economist at the Directorate-General for Competition, citing Scott Morton's potential conflicts of interest and U.S. citizenship. Scott Morton would oversee the regulation of tech giants and would be the first non-European to hold the job. Financial Times
MOVERS AND SHAKERS: Julia Frenette has joined Silversmith Capital Partners as an operating partner of talent.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT
- No confirmation. Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.) are poised to vote against the confirmation of acting Secretary of Labor Julie Su. One nay vote from either senator would block her confirmation. Sinema is still on the fence, but Manchin has stated that Su's progressive views would hinder her ability to oversee deals between labor unions and corporations. Politico
- A.I. ASAP. As A.I. becomes an essential tool in corporate spaces, Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser and former Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer are emphasizing the “survival of the fittest” effect the technology is having. Fraser wrote that incorporating A.I. is “an essential part of winning in the digital era” in a LinkedIn post this week, and Mayer described A.I. as weeding out weaker companies, which she believes “ultimately leads to a healthier outcome for the industry.” Fortune
- Williamson woes. New audio from a leaked phone call between Democratic presidential candidate Marianne Williamson and her volunteers exposed the dire financial straits the campaign is in. During the call, Williamson, a best-selling author, told volunteers that she couldn’t keep personally funding the campaign and blamed sabotage from the DNC, among other things, for the lack of momentum. Politico
ON MY RADAR
We're ignoring the real reason Barbie might dominate the box office Time
This woman-led philanthropy is cutting billionaires out of climate funding decisions The 19th
Signal president says company will not comply with proposed U.K. 'mass surveillance' law requiring mandatory messages scanning before encryption Fortune
PARTING WORDS
"If 'they' say no, you’ve already been telling yourself that, so you might as well do it anyway."
—Comedian and author Michelle Buteau on putting yourself out there
This is the web version of The Broadsheet, a daily newsletter for and about the world’s most powerful women. Sign up to get it delivered free to your inbox.
