A historically crowded field of candidates will compete for a South Bay congressional seat in San Mateo and Santa Clara counties next year after Democratic Rep. Anna Eshoo announced in late November that she would not seek another term after a long career in Congress that began with her election in 1992. Thirteen contenders threw their hat in the ring before the close of the candidate filing period on Wednesday evening.
With less than seven weeks before voting begins, candidates will have to quickly raise money and gain endorsements before the March primary. Regardless of party, two candidates will advance to the general election in November. Here’s an early look at the baker’s dozen House hopefuls who filed to represent a district that stretches from Pacifica to San José.
The Frontrunners
The truncated campaign is advantageous to candidates who voters already know. Three Democrats currently (or recently) have represented considerable swaths of the district in elected office and have the fundraising and political networks to amplify their message.
Sam Liccardo: Nearly 36% of the registered voters in the 16th congressional district live in San José and will likely be familiar with Liccardo from his recent tenure as the city’s mayor. During his two terms from 2015 to 2023, Liccardo helped engineer a fiscal turnaround in San José — lifting the city from a pension crisis to a budget surplus. Liccardo could face criticism for rising homelessness during his time in office, a trend that Liccardo took responsibility for toward the end of his tenure.
Evan Low: Low is looking to make history (again) as the Bay Area’s first openly LGBTQ member of Congress. When he was elected mayor of Campbell in 2009, Low was the youngest Asian and openly gay mayor in America. Since 2014, he’s represented parts of this congressional district in the state Assembly and has won plaudits from progressives for his pro-LGBTQ legislation, and he recently scored an endorsement from Rep. Ro Khanna. Unlike other progressives, Low has maintained close ties to law enforcement — touting his brother’s service in the San José Police Department and voting in 2018 against a closely-watched bill to open up police misconduct records.
Joe Simitian: A Santa Clara County supervisor and former state legislator, Simitian seemed the best prepared for Eshoo’s abrupt retirement announcement. Simitian has been raising money to run for the seat since 2009, stockpiling $681,003 in his campaign account. Simitian, who is 70, enters the race with the most experience on issues like housing and transportation but will undoubtedly face questions about his age and whether Bay Area voters are ready to send another septuagenarian to Washington.