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| Elections in California |
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The 2024 California's 16th congressional district election was held on November 5, 2024 to elect the United States representative for California's 16th congressional district. The election was held concurrently with elections for the other U.S. House districts in California and the rest of the country, as well as the 2024 U.S. Senate race in California, other elections to the United States Senate, and various state and local elections. The primary election was held on March 5, 2024, concurrently with the Super Tuesday presidential primaries.
The 16th district is an urban/suburban district based in Silicon Valley, including portions of Santa Clara and San Mateo counties, extending from the southwestern San Francisco Bay Area through the Santa Cruz Mountains to the Pacific coast. Its largest cities are San Jose, Mountain View, and Palo Alto.[1] Joe Biden won the district with 75.4% of the vote in the 2020 presidential election, making it a safe Democratic district.[2]
The incumbent prior to the election was Democrat Anna Eshoo, who was re-elected with 57.8% of the vote in 2022 running against another Democrat.[3] She did not seek re-election in 2024.[4] A wide field of 11 candidates filed for the race to succeed her, with 9 Democrats and 2 Republicans joining the race. The primary election was very close, with initial returns showing a heated battle for the two spots in the general election. A week after the primary, media outlets reported that former San Jose mayor Sam Liccardo had taken first place. However, it was unclear which candidate he would face in the general election, as state assemblyman Evan Low and Santa Clara County supervisor Joe Simitian repeatedly traded the second-place position during the vote tabulation process.[5]
By April 3, Low and Simitian had tied with 30,249 votes each in the final account, and both were expected to advance to the general election under a stipulation by California elections code regarding a second-place tie in primary elections.[5] However, a recount was requested by two voters shortly thereafter. The recount request was controversial, with Low's campaign accusing Liccardo of being behind it, an accusation which was vehemently denied by Liccardo's campaign.[6] At the conclusion of the recount on May 1, Low ultimately edged out Simitian by a margin of 5 votes, with Low gaining 12 votes and Simitian 7.[7] As required by federal law, the source of the recount funds was later revealed to be a pro-Liccardo super PAC funded almost entirely by billionaire Michael Bloomberg.[8][9]
On November 6, the Associated Press called the race for Liccardo.[10] Low conceded the same day.[11]
The primary results marked the second time since California transitioned to a nonpartisan blanket primary system in 2012 in which there was a second-place tie in a primary election and a potential three-candidate general election, the first being the 2016 election for California's 62nd State Assembly district.[a][5]
- ^ "Daily Kos Elections congressional district geographic descriptions & largest places (119th Congress)". Daily Kos. Retrieved March 4, 2024.
- ^ Nir, David (November 14, 2022). "Daily Kos Elections' presidential results by congressional district for 2020". Daily Kos. Retrieved April 4, 2024.
- ^ "2022 National House Vote Tracker". Cook Political Report. Archived from the original on November 24, 2023. Retrieved November 27, 2023.
- ^ Adragna, Anthony (November 21, 2023). "Veteran California Democrat Anna Eshoo plans to leave Congress, marking retirement record". Politico. Archived from the original on November 21, 2023. Retrieved November 21, 2023.
- ^ a b c d Wick, Julia (April 3, 2024). "Every vote counts in Silicon Valley, where two congressional candidates literally tied for second place". Los Angeles Times.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
RecountRequestedwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Hase, Grace (May 1, 2024). "Congressional Recount: Evan Low heads to November election as Joe Simitian is knocked off the ballot". The Mercury News. Retrieved May 1, 2024.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
NFR1was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Cite error: The named reference
NFR2was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "AP Race Call: Democrat Sam Liccardo wins election to U.S. House in California's 16th Congressional District". AP News. November 7, 2024. Retrieved November 8, 2024.
- ^ Pho, Brandon (November 7, 2024). "Evan Low concedes Silicon Valley congressional race to Sam Liccardo". San José Spotlight. Retrieved November 8, 2024.
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