With a second-place tie, three Democrats seem like headed to the November poll within the race for a coveted Silicon Valley congressional seat.
The extraordinarily uncommon state of affairs comes after weeks of uncertainty, with second-place finishers Santa Clara County Supervisor Joe Simitian and Assemblymember Evan Low of Campbell repeatedly buying and selling positions, typically whereas separated by only one or two votes. They seem to have completed the race with 30,249 votes apiece.
Former San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo has maintained a first-place lead because the main, securing his spot on the November poll with greater than 38,000 votes.
“It was like watching a snail race — probably the most thrilling snail race I’ve ever witnessed in my life,” mentioned Marva Diaz, a political marketing consultant and writer of the election information California Goal Guide.
There didn’t instantly seem like any precedent for a three-way California congressional race because the state shifted to its nonpartisan main system in 2012, which dictates that the highest two finishers advance to the November poll no matter celebration.
Within the case of a second-place tie in a main election, California elections code stipulates that each candidates seem on the overall election poll together with the first-place winner.
The candidates are vying to switch retiring Rep. Anna Eshoo of Menlo Park in a safely Democratic district that features a part of Santa Clara and San Mateo counties.
The outcomes should not official but, although each counties mentioned Wednesday that each one ballots had been processed. County election officers should finalize their official tallies by Thursday, with the secretary of state’s workplace anticipated to certify election outcomes on April 12.
A 3-way common election occurred in an Meeting race in 2016, when former Assemblymember Autumn Burke confronted off towards two different candidates, as California Goal Guide analysis director Rob Pyers famous on Wednesday.
However each of the challengers had been write-in candidates who tied with 32 main votes every, making it a non-competitive common election race — and a really completely different state of affairs from the battle brewing in California’s sixteenth Congressional District.
Simitian, Low and Liccardo are all present or earlier elected officeholders who’ve run critical campaigns with important fundraising.
Ought to the depend maintain and all three candidates make it to the ultimate poll, Diaz mentioned, the presence of three Democrats working sturdy campaigns would “change the dynamics immensely” for the November election.
“Working towards one different individual could be very completely different than working towards two different folks,” she mentioned.
Eshoo introduced her retirement in November after greater than three many years in Congress. Democrats maintain a greater than 3-to-1 registration benefit over Republicans within the district, which incorporates the cities of Palo Alto and Mountain View and a part of the town of San Jose.
As soon as the votes are licensed, both candidate may additionally request a recount, which they might be required to pay for. However in a state of affairs the place they’re each headed to the poll, the political calculus for requesting a recount could be cloudy at finest, because it may probably lead to both of them shedding their slot.
Simitian’s communications director, Francesca Segrè, mentioned Wednesday afternoon that his marketing campaign would chorus from commenting till each counties had formally licensed their outcomes.
Low’s marketing campaign didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark, however the Meeting member tweeted a smiling picture of himself sporting a shiny, violet-colored tie, quipping that “It’s a particular ‘Tie’ day!”
