Silicon Valley Congressional Race Separated by Only Four Votes

Karen Breslau
·2 min read
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(Bloomberg) -- Only four votes separate two of the leading candidates in a Silicon Valley congressional district that’s home to some of the world’s most valuable companies.

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With more than a thousand ballots still to be counted by hand three weeks after California’s Super Tuesday primary election, Santa Clara County Supervisor Joe Simitian holds a single-digit vote lead over Evan Low, a state assembly member, out of more than 180,000 votes cast, according to the Secretary of State’s website on Monday.

Simitian and Low, both Democrats, are competing for a spot on the November ballot against another Democrat, former San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo, who received the most votes on March 5. Under California’s open primary system, the top two vote-getters, regardless of party, advance to a November runoff.

The affluent and heavily Democratic district is home to HP Inc., Alphabet Inc.’s Google, LinkedIn, Intuit Inc., VMWare LLC and other technology companies and has been represented by Democratic incumbent Anna Eshoo since 1992. Eshoo was part of a class of female politicians elected during what became known as the “year of the woman,” when Barbara Boxer and the late Dianne Feinstein were elected to the US Senate.

After Eshoo announced plans to retire last year, dozens of candidates entered the race.

More than 1,400 ballots in Santa Clara County and San Mateo County are lacking signatures or have been challenged for other reasons, according to election officials. County officials must complete final official results by April 4, and the Secretary of State will certify the election results on April 12.

Michael Bloomberg, the founder and majority owner of Bloomberg News parent Bloomberg LP, donated to a political action committee supporting Liccardo.

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