SAN JOSE — Peter Thiel, the quirky billionaire who was one of the few high-profile Silicon Valley supporters of President-elect Donald Trump, is considering running for California governor in 2018, Politico reported on Saturday.

The news organization attributed the story to “three Republicans familiar with his thinking.”

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Quinn: Peter Thiel, a passe version of Silicon Valley Politico said the 49-year-old Thiel, a San Francisco resident who co-founded PayPal in 1999 and was an early investor in Facebook, has been discussing the possible bid with a small circle of advisers including Rob Morrow, who Politico said “has emerged as his political consigliere.” Morrow has worked at San Francisco-based Clarium Capital, an investment management firm and hedge fund founded by Thiel.

But Politico also reported that some people who have been in touch with Thiel recently are skeptical that he’ll jump into the race. They noted that he is a famously private man who lives in a state where anti-Trump sentiment is intense. Democrat Hillary Clinton trounced the New York billionaire here by 2-1.

In addition, wealthy business people — from Al Checchi to Meg Whitman to Carly Fiorina — don’t have a history of winning statewide races in California, noted Barbara O’Connor, director emeritus of the Institute for the Study of Politics and Media at Sacramento State.

“And after almost two years of Trump, Californians will be even more likely to want a governor with some experience in government,” O’Connor said.

Neither Thiel nor a representative responded to Politico’s requests for comment.

The speculation is fueled by the fact that Thiel this past week granted a rare interview to Maureen Dowd, the New York Times columnist.

At one point, Thiel said, perhaps facetiously, that he’d be “fine” with California splitting off from the rest of the country.

“I think it would be good for California, good for the rest of the country. It would help Mr. Trump’s re-election campaign,” he told Dowd.

Thiel isn’t totally new to politics. He gave a pro-Trump speech at July’s Republican National Convention, where he was cheered when he said he was proud to be gay, Republican and American. And since 2000 he has donated more than $8.5 million to federal candidates and committees.

Thiel isn’t the only billionaire reportedly considering a run for California governor in 2018. Liberal environmentalist Tom Steyer, a former hedge fund manager who is also from San Francisco, has said he hasn’t ruled out a bid.

The top fund-raisers on the Democratic side are Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom and former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa. State Treasurer John Chiang has also entered the race to replace Gov. Jerry Brown.

Politico noted that in July 2015, Thiel contributed over $56,000 to Newsom’s 2018 campaign.

“Thiel would really be coming up against some strong names on the Democratic side,” said Melissa Michelson, a political science professor at Menlo College in Atherton. “He’s got so many strikes against him. The Republican Party is so weak in California that it’s hard to imagine anyone taking his candidacy seriously.”