After more than two weeks of recounting, Silicon Valley finally has a result in California’s 16th Congressional District primary. Democratic Assemblymember Evan Low narrowly edged out Santa Clara County Supervisor Joe Simitian for second place and will head to the general election in November. Low will run against frontrunner former San José Mayor and Democrat Sam Liccardo.
In an extraordinary turn of events after the primaries and weeks of uncertainty, Low and Simitian tied for second place when the final ballots were tallied on April 4. Each had 30,249 votes. Liccardo swept the vote with 38,489 votes. The CA 16th congressional district includes parts of both Santa Clara and San Mateo counties.
The competitive race began with eleven candidates jumping at the rare chance to vie for an open Bay Area congressional seat when Congresswoman Anna Eshoo announced her retirement after 32 years in office in November.
Just when voters had reconciled to an unprecedented 3-way race in the general elections, Jonathan Padilla, a former mayoral campaign staffer for Liccardo, requested a recount. There is no automatic recount provision for statewide and federal races in California. Any voter can request a recount if they are willing to pay for the costs.
Padilla paid for the recount through a Super PAC, Count the Vote. The names of donors to the Super PAC will remain concealed until July because of federal election rules, but sources say the recount cost the group roughly $270,000.
After more than 2 weeks of recounting and many contested ballots, Low edged ahead with 11 votes over 7 for Simitian who had Eshoo’s endorsement. Simitian graciously stepped out of the race saying that he was “disappointed but not sad.”
“The good news is the 16th congressional district’s long painful exercise counting the votes is over! The not-so-good news: We have come up short,” conceded Simitian.
Low said, “My team and I knew that succeeding the esteemed Anna Eshoo would be challenging, so we see a race ending in a tie followed by a recount as character-building for your next representative in Congress.”
In a social media post, Low said “We are very excited that my advancement into the general election was reaffirmed and I now look forward to the real work of tackling the big issues facing our country like reproductive freedom and affordability.”
In a primary rated as one of the most expensive House races in California, who will Eshoo and Simitian endorse between the two Democrats vying for this coveted CA-16 Congressional seat? It might tip the balance in this extraordinary election.