Gay Assemblymember Evan Low (D-Cupertino) will not fulfill his dream of becoming the first out congressional member from the Bay Area. He conceded Wednesday night that he had lost his bid for the open 16th Congressional District seat spanning Santa Clara and San Mateo counties.
The South Bay leader had entered into the November 5 election as the underdog against fellow Democrat Sam Liccardo, the former mayor of San Jose who had finished in a commanding first place in their March primary race. On election night, Liccardo also took a large lead in the race with nearly 60% of the vote.
A little less than 24 hours after the polls closed, Low acknowledged he would not make up the gap. According to the unofficial returns, he remains in second place with 40% of the vote.
It prompted him to call Liccardo and congratulate him on his "hard fought" victory, as Low noted in a post he shared on the social media site X. The straight ally will succeed Congressmember Anna Eshoo (D-Palo Alto), who opted to retire rather than seek another term this year.
"I want to express my deepest gratitude to every volunteer, supporter, and voter who believed in our vision for the Bay Area. 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."
As for Liccardo, Low wrote, "His success will be our success here in Silicon Valley."
Liccardo will be the first Latino to represent the district, which spans Santa Clara and San Mateo counties. In his own post on X, he thanked Low "for his well-wishes and congratulations earlier this evening." He added that Eshoo had also called him to offer her support and congratulations.
"While we await final results from the County Registrar, 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," wrote Liccardo.
Low and Liccardo had engaged in a bruising battle for the open South Bay House seat. Their campaign had grown increasingly negative following their March primary race.
At first, it had appeared Low and Santa Clara County Supervisor Joe Simitian (D) would both run against Liccardo on the fall ballot due to their being tied for second in the primary. But after a former Liccardo staffer called for a recount, Low emerged the sole second-place winner by five votes.
It kicked off months of sniping between his and Liccardo's campaign over everything from campaign finance violations to who had the most support among their Democratic elected colleagues. Low had also accused Liccardo of orchestrating the recount of their primary race in an attempt to oust him from the November 5 ballot.
In a Hail Mary attempt to bolster his chances, Low in late October rolled out a last-minute endorsement from Governor Gavin Newsom. LGBTQ advocacy groups had also poured money into the race to help Low pull off a win and add to the number of LGBTQ members among California's congressional delegation.
Incumbent gay Congressmembers Mark Takano (D-Riverside) and Robert Garcia (D-Long Beach) are both expected to win their reelection bids. Garcia declared victory Tuesday in his contest for a second term as the representative of the 42nd Congressional District seat.
Takano continues to be in first place in his race for the 39th Congressional District seat. As of Wednesday evening, he had 55% of the vote.
After having a lead on election night in the race for the 41st Congressional District seat, gay attorney Will Rollins is now in second place with 48.6% of the vote. He is trying to oust from office conservative Congressmember Ken Calvert (R-Corona), who was able to fend off a challenge by Rollins two years ago after the LGBTQ haven of Palm Springs was added to his district via redistricting.
Their race is not expected to be called for days as more ballots are counted. A victory by Rollins would be particularly sweet for Takano, as he was outed by Calvert when he ran against him in 1994 in a differently drawn House district.
The three other out congressional contenders in the Golden State who ran in Tuesday's election all continue to trail their opponents. Progressives Jennifer Kim-Anh Tran, Ph.D., seeking the East Bay's 12th Congressional District seat, and Los Angeles area candidates Derek Marshall in the 23rd Congressional District and David Kim in the 34th Congressional District were all seen as underdogs in their respective races.
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