Sam Liccardo wins 16th Congressional District race to represent Silicon Valley
San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo talks about new housing for 300 unsheltered people. Oct. 23, 2020
SAN JOSE, Calif. - Former San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo won California’s 16th Congressional District to succeed longtime Congresswoman Anna Eshoo, who retired after nearly three decades. Despite the call by the Associated Press on Wednesday evening, Liccardo says he is not yet declaring victory.
Liccardo, a democrat, was a two-term mayor of San Jose from 2015 to 2023. Before that, he was on the San Jose City Council, where he represented the downtown area. He also used to be a Santa Clara County prosecutor.
More recently, he's lectured at Stanford Law School and is the senior adviser and counsel for California civic initiatives at San Francisco-based Ground Floor Public Affairs.
Liccardo says the fact that the White House, and potentially both houses of Congress, will be in Republican control will certainly make his job that much harder.
"We are going to need to step up to defend democratic institutions, to defend our immigrant communities, to defend reproductive rights and other rights – I will be fighting to do that," Liccardo said on Wednesday evening.
Liccardo beat state Assemblyman Evan Low, who used to be Campbell’s mayor – the youngest Asian American and youngest LGBTQ+ mayor in the country, in 2009.
Low conceded Wednesday evening. He put out a statement on social media where he thanked supporters and volunteers. He said in part, "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."
He said he will remain committed to bettering the lives of everyday Americans. He also said he spoke with Liccardo and thanked him for a hard-fought campaign. "His success will be our success here in Silicon Valley."
The district spans from the Peninsula to the South Bay, from Pacifica in the north to San Jose, and from Los Gatos to Pescadero in the south.
The Associated Press declared Liccardo the winner at 7:57 p.m. EST on Wednesday.
