State Assemblymember Evan Low has conceded the race for Silicon Valley’s hottest congressional seat — sending former San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo to Washington D.C.
Election night results launched Liccardo into a comfortable 20% lead over Low for Congressional District 16, a trend that hasn’t changed much since subsequent ballot tallying updates. Low — whose campaign was backed by police, nurse and teacher unions — congratulated Liccardo and expressed gratitude for his 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, the Chinese American state lawmaker who spent a decade building power in Sacramento, wrote in a statement posted to X, formerly known as Twitter.
Low said he spoke to Liccardo — whose campaign saw support from climate and gun control advocacy groups — on Wednesday evening and thanked him for a hard fought campaign.
“His success will be our success here in Silicon Valley,” Low said.
Liccardo, the 54-year-old former prosecutor and San Jose’s 65th mayor, thanked Low for his well wishes as he nabs the congressional brass ring from San Mateo and Santa Clara counties’ current House representative, Congresswoman Anna Eshoo.
Liccardo is working to put a team of congressional staff in place to serve his district in Silicon Valley and in Washington D.C.
“I thank Evan Low for his well-wishes and congratulations earlier this evening, and I was also pleased to receive a message of congratulations and support from Congresswoman Anna Eshoo,” Liccardo said in a statement announcing Low’s concession. “I join our community in expressing our profound gratitude for her three decades of leadership and service to our community.”
It was a bitter and unusual fight for the seat. A historic tie in the primaries sparked a contentious recount that left Liccardo and Low bumping heads with negative campaigning, endorsement jockeying, heated debates and dueling FEC complaints.
Both candidates are tight with established Silicon Valley political circles. But they differ on key issues such as Proposition 36, a statewide ballot measure which would ramp up criminal punishment for petty theft if approved in the election. Liccardo has come out in support of the measure, while Low said he’s against it.
The candidates have clashed intensely on public safety. Low blitzed Liccardo’s record on police staffing in San Jose which shrank to emergency levels after Liccardo championed pension reforms. Liccardo, meanwhile, has hammered Low for his support from local and statewide police unions — and for voting against the disclosure of police misconduct records in the Assembly.
Liccardo had maintained a large fundraising gap of $2 million over Low leading up to Election Day. He raised more than $5.4 million in total during his campaign, while Low raised more than $3.4 million.
Beyond their campaigns, both candidates saw millions in independent support. Liccardo received a total $2 million independent spending boost from out-of-state billionaire and former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Yet Low also saw independent support from the state’s largest corporate landlord group and electric utility PG&E.
Contact Brandon Pho at brandon@sanjosespotlight.com or @brandonphooo on X, formerly known as Twitter.
This story originally appeared in San José Spotlight.