Requests for recount in District 16 congressional race

Tie for second place in District 16 race

The battle for the second spot in the race for California's 16th Congressional District intensified as three candidates, rather than two, could likely appear on the November ballot for the general election.

SAN MATEO, Calif. - There may be a recount in the closely watched District 16 congressional race that ended in a tie for second place.

KTVU learned Tuesday that two people have requested recounts in San Mateo and Santa Clara counties.

One of them is Jonathan Padilla, who previously served as the policy director for former San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo. Liccardo has already qualified for the November ballot in the race.

The other recount request is from Dan Stegink, a former candidate for San Mateo County Supervisor.

Should the requests meet the qualifications, the recount would begin on Monday.

If the tie for second place holds, both Evan Low and Joe Simitian will advance to the general election in November to challenge Liccardo.

Low's campaign strongly opposes a potential recount in the race and pointed fingers at Liccardo.

"This is a page right out of Trump’s political playbook using dirty tricks to attack democracy and subvert the will of the voters. Sam Liccardo, who does not live in the district, did not file a recount himself. Instead, he had his former staffer do it for him. What’s he afraid of?," said a spokesperson for Low's campaign on Tuesday evening.

There is no evidence to support the claim that Liccardo had anything to do with the recount requests.