About half of the votes have been counted in the race, according to an estimate by The Associated Press. Liccardo said it was too early to declare victory, but Simitian expressed confidence that the field was set for the fall.
“It was a great outcome, we’re really all quite excited,” Simitian told KQED. “The goal was met: Make the top two.”
One of the region’s most experienced lawmakers, Simitian has served on the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors since 2013. Before that, he represented the Peninsula and South Bay in the state Senate.
He campaigned on a track record of accomplishments that included the preservation of the Buena Vista Mobile Home Park, redirecting local sales tax revenue from BART to local transit, and reforms promoting greater transparency in the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office.
And Simitian, who is 71-years-old, responded to questions about his age by arguing he was a candidate whose focus was on the future, with the wisdom necessary to see problems around the bend.
Like Simitian, Liccardo focused his campaign on issues of local importance, including homelessness and transportation. Liccardo promised to bring new ideas to reduce street homelessness to Congress, such as allowing recipients of housing assistance to use their Section 8 vouchers to pay for interim housing, like tiny homes.
As mayor, Liccardo initially presided over an increase in homelessness. But during his last year as mayor, homelessness fell in San José which he pointed to as evidence that a program he supported to build short-term housing was making meaningful progress in providing shelter. Liccardo frequently clashed with organized labor during his tenure as mayor, but it’s unclear if those groups will spend more heavily against him during the fall campaign.
In the primary, unions largely threw their support behind Low, the former mayor of Campbell who has represented parts of the South Bay in the state Assembly since 2014. The powerful South Bay Labor Council and San Mateo Labor Council both endorsed his candidacy, along with the California Labor Federation.
“With numerous votes outstanding, the election remains too close to call,” Low said on X (formerly known as Twitter). “I look forward to reviewing the results of the remaining votes as they come in and remain hopeful we will continue to the General Election.”
Low built his messaging around issues aimed at engaging progressives — touting his work on reproductive and LGBTQ+ rights and framing his candidacy as a bulwark against a second Trump presidency. But he faced a depressed turnout among the younger and more progressive voters whose support he needed. In early voting, fewer than 10% of ballots returned came from voters younger than 35.
Eshoo’s decision late last year not to seek another term kicked off a 15-week sprint before the primary. The 11 candidates running for the seat spent a collective $5.6 million (with an additional $2.5 million from outside groups) making their case to voters from Pacifica to San José, according to campaign finance filings filed with the state through February 14.
Peter Dixon, a tech entrepreneur, received 7.6%. The former marine spent more than $1.8 million — the most of any candidate — and blanketed the district with mailers. He even purchased pricey television ad slots.
Conservative voters in the district appear to have split their vote between two GOP candidates: Former Menlo Park City Councilmember Peter Ohtaki, who had 13.3% of the vote, and Karl Ryan, a local party official who received 7.3%.
The only female candidate running to succeed Eshoo — who was elected in the original 1992 “Year of the Woman,” when a number of female candidates were elected to Congress — was Julie Lythcott-Haims, a Palo Alto City Council member and bestselling author. But it appears Lythcott-Haims, who garnered 5.2% of the vote, and other Democrats struggled to increase their recognition across the sprawling district during this truncated campaign.
Former Saratoga Councilmember Rishi Kumar, who garnered 42% of the vote against Eshoo in the 2022 general election, won 6.3% of the vote. Palo Alto City Councilmember Greg Tanaka won 1.4% and Stanford graduate student Joby Bernstein received less than 1%. Attorney Ahmed Mostafa, who took the strongest stand against Israel’s military campaign in Gaza and called for an end to U.S. military aid to Israel, logged 2.3%.
