Conservative CEO of gay dating app Grindr makes pick for California governor

The chief executive of gay dating app Grindr, who once-described himself as a conservative, has made his choice in the California governor’s race.

Grindr CEO George Arison has endorsed moderate San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, and has cut a check for $7,000 to his campaign.

“I’m supporting Matt Mahan,” he told Politico. Mahan is one of several Democrats in a wide-open 2026 field also featuring former Rep. Katie Porter and billionaire Tom Steyer. Steve Hilton is the lead Republican with Riverside Sheriff Chad Bianco an alternative option.

He also noted that he doesn’t get involved in politics and doesn’t want his company involved either.

“In general, I don’t get involved in politics. I don’t want Grindr involved in politics at all.”

Arison stirred controversy in 2022 when he was named CEO of Grinder and tweets resurfaced where the CEO described himself as conservative. Those comments have since been deleted.

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Other pasts tweets from him include saying former Virginia governor Glenn Youngkin should run for president, that he wished former Utah Sen. Mitt Romney was president instead of Donald Trump, and that Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell is good at “achieving what he wants.”

It’s unclear if Arison is still conservative. But he doesn’t like how California is being run, suggesting the state should have a smaller government or more services.

“I like living here for professional reasons. I like living here for the environment,” Arison said. “But I hate living here for the fact that we have a state government that is quite bigger than the one a decade ago that provides less services.”

Grindr maintains a public policy team, he says, though they focus on users’ needs.

“Most of what that team does is focus on things that our users need, rather than company needs. Like ensuring that HIV preventative and treatment funding continues to be available, decriminalization of being gay around the world, protecting gay marriage whenever necessary. I do get involved in that work a lot, and I do sometimes give money to campaigns when it makes sense, but very seldom,” he said.

He told Politico that the company plans to heavily-utilize artificial intelligence and that he approves of the Trump administration‘s use of it.

“I actually think that the strategy the [Trump] administration came up with is pretty good. It should be to unleash the potential of AI as much as possible, [making it] as accessible and as advanced as it can be. And ensure that we beat China and other evil countries,” he said.