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UPDATE: With new results released Wednesday evening, the Associated Press has called the race in favor of Liccardo.
Former San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo has won the heated Congressional race to succeed U.S. Rep. Anna Eshoo, beating Assembly member Evan Low by nearly 20 percentage points as the Associated Press called the race in his favor on Wednesday night.
Early on in election night, Liccardo was enjoying a strong lead, with both Santa Clara County and San Mateo County registrars showing him well ahead of Low.
With most of the mail-in results tallied by midnight on Election Day, Liccardo had received 91,870 votes in Santa Clara County while Low’s had received 63,584. Liccardo had received 59% of the votes in the county while Low had 41%. The total did not include votes that were cast on Election Day or those that were mailed after Nov. 1.
Liccardo also enjoyed a strong lead in San Mateo County, where he picked up 21,847 votes, or nearly 63% of the total vote cast. Low received 12,899 votes, or 37%, election night results showed. By the Wednesday afternoon vote tally update, Liccardo had widened his lead in both counties.
According to a press release from Liccardo’s campaign, Low called him to congratulate him on the win Wednesday evening.
“I am working to put a strong team of congressional staff in place to serve our district at home and in D.C., because our community deserves a representative who can hit the ground running,” Liccardo wrote in the release. “I join our community in expressing our profound gratitude for (Eshoo’s) three decades of leadership and service to our community.”
Despite his early lead on election night itself, Liccardo was not ready to declare victory. He said he was proud of his campaign team but acknowledged the difficult political environment he’d be entering if results hold.
“I’d be lying if I didn’t feel a swirl of conflicting emotions about what’s happening at the national level,” Liccardo said, alluding to the Republican victories on the national stage.
While Liccardo ran on a platform of pragmatism and pledged his ability to work across the aisle, he noted that the shifting political environment means that he will have to work hard to defend California’s values.
“There are going to be times when I’ll need to fight to defend Democratic institutions, to defend our immigrant community and to defend our values,” Liccardo said. “I’m an experienced criminal prosecutor and I know how to fight.
“When there’s an opportunity to work across the aisle to help families, to reduce cost of child care, utilities and housing, I’ll do it.”
The contentious and at times rancorous race gave Silicon Valley voters a rare chance to choose a new elected leader in a district that U.S. Rep. Anna Eshoo has represented for more than three decades. The 16th District stretches from the South Bay, through the Midpeninsula area and to the coastal areas of San Mateo County. It includes a portion of San Jose as well as the communities of Palo Alto, Mountain View, much of Menlo Park, Atherton, Woodside, Portola Valley, Half Moon Bay and Pacifica, among many others.
The contest to replace Eshoo proved particularly complex, with Santa Clara County Joe Simitian and Low finishing tied for second place after the March primary election. Both were set to appear on the November ballot with Liccardo, who finished first, before a supporter of Liccardo filed a last-minute request for a recount. Low finished five votes ahead of Simitian after the recount.
Since then, Liccardo and Low have exchanged barbs and accusations, with Low complaining about the recount, which was filed under his name, and assailing Liccardo’s mayoral record when it comes to crime and homelessness. Liccardo has criticized Low for his legislative record, the support he has been receiving from oil companies and PG&E and his practice of shifting funds from his state Assembly campaign account to his Congressional campaign account, which prompted a lawsuit from the group Defend the Vote.
Liccardo has positioned himself throughout the campaign as a moderate problem solver who will be able to work with both parties, while Low has characterized himself as a Democratic standard-bearer who has been endorsed by Gov. Gavin Newsom and the California Democratic Party.
With the race over, Low released a statement on Wednesday evening thanking this volunteers and supporters.
“Although the outcome of the election is not one we hoped for, I am proud of the people-first campaign that we ran, focusing on the very real issues that affect the daily lives of CD-16 voters,” Low wrote. “I got my start in local politics because I wanted to better the lives of everyday Americans, and I will remain committed to that mission.”
Congrats to Sam Liccardo. He won every precinct in Mountain View.