The 2024 California's 16th congressional district election was held on November 5, 2024, to elect the

United States representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

for

California's 16th congressional district California's 16th congressional district is a congressional district in the U.S. state of California. It includes portions of Santa Clara County, California, Santa Clara and San Mateo County, California, San Mateo counties, extending from the s ...

. The election was held concurrently with elections for the other U.S. House districts in California and the rest of the country, as well as the 2024 U.S. Senate race in California, other

elections An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operated ...

to the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

, and various

state State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

and

local elections Local may refer to: Geography and transportation * Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand * Local, Missouri, a community in the United States Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Local'' (comics), a limited series comic book by Bria ...

. The primary election was held on March 5, 2024, concurrently with the

Super Tuesday Super Tuesday is the United States presidential primary election day in February or March when the greatest number of U.S. states hold primary elections and caucuses. Approximately one-third of all delegates to the presidential nominatin ...

presidential primaries. The 16th district is an urban/suburban district based in

Silicon Valley Silicon Valley is a region in Northern California that is a global center for high technology and innovation. Located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, it corresponds roughly to the geographical area of the Santa Clara Valley ...

, including portions of Santa Clara and San Mateo counties, extending from the southwestern

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a List of regions of California, region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose, California, S ...

through the

Santa Cruz Mountains The Santa Cruz Mountains ( Mutsun Ohlone: Mak-sah-re-jah, "Sharp Ridged Mountain of the Eagle" or "People of the Eagle Mountain") are a mountain range in central and Northern California, United States, constituting a part of the Pacific Coast R ...

to the Pacific coast. Its largest cities are San Jose, Mountain View, and

Palo Alto Palo Alto ( ; Spanish language, Spanish for ) is a charter city in northwestern Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, named after a Sequoia sempervirens, coastal redwood tree known as El Palo Alto. Th ...

Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...

won the district with 75.4% of the vote in the 2020 presidential election, making it a safe Democratic district. The incumbent prior to the election was Democrat

Anna Eshoo Anna A. Eshoo ( ; née Georges; born December 13, 1942) is an American politician who served as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for from 1993 to 2025. She is a member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democ ...

, who was re-elected with 57.8% of the vote in 2022 running against another Democrat. She did not seek re-election in 2024. A wide field of 11 candidates filed for the race to succeed her, with 9 Democrats and 2 Republicans joining the race. The primary election was very close, with initial returns showing a heated battle for the two spots in the general election. A week after the primary, media outlets reported that former San Jose mayor

Sam Liccardo Samuel Theodore Liccardo (born April 16, 1970) is an American attorney and politician currently serving as the U.S. representative from California's 16th congressional district. Previously, he served as the 65th mayor of San Jose from 2015 to ...

had taken first place. However, it was unclear which candidate he would face in the general election, as state assemblyman

Evan Low Evan Low (born June 5, 1983) is an American politician who served in the California State Assembly from 2014 to 2024. A member of the Democratic Party, he represented the 26th Assembly district, which encompasses parts of Silicon Valley, includi ...

and Santa Clara County supervisor

Joe Simitian Saren Joseph Simitian (born February 1, 1953) is an American politician. A member of the United States Democratic Party, Democratic Party, he was the California State Senate, State Senator representing California's 11th State Senate district, whi ...

repeatedly traded the second-place position during the vote tabulation process. By April 3, Low and Simitian had tied with 30,249 votes each in the final account, and both were expected to advance to the general election under a stipulation by California elections code regarding a second-place tie in primary elections. However, a recount was requested by two voters shortly thereafter. The recount request was controversial, with Low's campaign accusing Liccardo of being behind it, an accusation which was vehemently denied by Liccardo's campaign. At the conclusion of the recount on May 1, Low ultimately edged out Simitian by a margin of 5 votes, with Low gaining 12 votes and Simitian 7. As required by federal law, the source of the recount funds was later revealed to be a pro-Liccardo super PAC funded almost entirely by billionaire

Michael Bloomberg Michael Rubens Bloomberg (born February 14, 1942) is an American businessman and politician. He is the majority owner and co-founder of Bloomberg L.P., and was its CEO from 1981 to 2001 and again from 2014 to 2023. He served as the 108th mayo ...

. On November 6, the Associated Press called the race for Liccardo. Low conceded the same day. The primary results marked the second time since California transitioned to a

nonpartisan blanket primary A nonpartisan primary, top-two primary, or jungle primary is a primary election in which all candidates for the same elected office run against each other at once, regardless of political party. This distinguishes them from partisan primaries, w ...

system in 2012 in which there was a second-place tie in a primary election and a potential three-candidate general election, the first being the 2016 election for California's 62nd State Assembly district.

Primary election

Candidates

Advanced to general

(Democratic), former

mayor of San Jose In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well as ...

(2015–2023) *

(Democratic), state assemblyman (2014–present)

Initially advanced to general but eliminated after recount

(Democratic), Santa Clara County supervisor (1996–2000, 2013–present) and former

state senator A state senator is a member of a State legislature (United States), state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. History There are typically fewer state senators than there ...

(2004–2012)

Eliminated in primary

* Joby Bernstein (Democratic), financial advisor and graduate student * Peter Dixon (Democratic), cybersecurity executive and former

U.S. State Department The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs ...

staffer * Rishi Kumar (Democratic), former Saratoga city councilor and runner-up for this district in

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

and

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

* Julie Lythcott-Haims (Democratic),

city councilor * Ahmed Mostafa (Democratic), attorney * Peter Ohtaki (Republican), former mayor of Menlo Park and perennial candidate * Karl Ryan (Republican), businessman * Greg Tanaka (Democratic),

city councilor and candidate for this district in

Declined

* Josh Becker (Democratic),

(2020–present) ''( ran for re-election)'' *

Marc Berman Marc Berman (born October 31, 1980) is an American lawyer and politician who has served as a member of the California State Assembly since 2016. He is a Democrat representing the 23rd Assembly District, encompassing parts of the San Francisco ...

(Democratic), state assemblyman (2016–present) ''( ran for re-election)'' *

(Democratic), incumbent U.S. representative ''(endorsed Simitian)''

Fundraising

Endorsements

;U.S. representatives *

Jason Crow Jason Crow (born March 15, 1979) is an American politician, lawyer, and former U.S. Army officer serving since 2019 as the United States representative for . Crow is the first member of the Democratic Party to represent the district, which e ...

, CO-06 (2019–present) * Don Davis, NC-01 (2023–present) *

Chris Deluzio Christopher Raphael Deluzio (born July 13, 1984) is an American politician, attorney, and former U.S. Navy officer serving as the U.S. representative for Pennsylvania's 17th congressional district since 2023. A member of the Democratic Party, ...

, PA-17 (2023–present) *

Jared Golden Jared Forrest Golden (born July 25, 1982) is an American politician and United States Marine Corps, Marine Corps veteran serving as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for Maine's 2nd congressional district since 2018 ...

, ME-02 (2019–present) *

Seth Moulton Seth Wilbur Moulton (born October 24, 1978) is an American politician and former Marine Corps officer who has been the U.S. representative for Massachusetts's 6th congressional district since 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, his distr ...

, (2015–present) * Pat Ryan, NY-18 (2022–present) *

Mikie Sherrill Rebecca Michelle "Mikie" Sherrill ( ; born January 19, 1972) is an American politician, attorney, former naval officer, and former federal prosecutor serving as the U.S. representative for since 2019. The district includes a swath of suburban a ...

NJ-11 New Jersey's 11th congressional district is a suburban district in northern New Jersey. The district includes portions of Essex, Morris, and Passaic Counties. It is centered in Morris County. The 11th congressional district, along with the 12 ...

(2019–present) ;Organizations *

VoteVets VoteVets.org is a progressive political action committee (PAC) and 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization in the United States. The organization prioritizes American defense, national security, and veterans advocacy. It was co-founded in 2006 by Jon S ...

With Honor Fund With Honor Fund II (the next iteration of the With Honor Fund) is an American independent expenditure-only committee (a.k.a. “super PAC”) registered with the Federal Election Commission, led by military veterans and focused on electing next-g ...

Recount and involvement of Liccardo super PACs

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

Both campaigns released statements indicating that they intend to compete in the general election. However, local media reported that a poll had been sent to voters testing a three-way race as well as two-way races between Liccardo and each of his opponents, leading to speculation that Liccardo's campaign would ask for a recount. On April 9, officials in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties confirmed that two residents of the district had requested a recount: Jonathan Padilla, who was finance director on Liccardo's 2014 mayoral campaign and donated $1,000 to his 2024 congressional campaign, and Pacifica resident Dan Stegink. Stegink later withdrew his request. Low's campaign alleged that Liccardo was behind the requests, which they called "a page right out of Trump's political playbook using dirty tricks to attack democracy and subvert the will of the voters." Liccardo's campaign denied responsibility, though they maintained the recount was necessary, saying "every vote should be counted." Padilla, a "longtime Silicon Valley political insider," did not answer questions from local media about the source of the funds for the costly recount. Eshoo, who endorsed Simitian, called for transparency in the recount process. In his recount request, Padilla wrote that he was "not coordinating or communicating with any candidate or candidates' agents" and made "this request on behalf of Evan Low." However, Low's campaign reaffirmed that he did not support the recount and called Padilla's statement "disingenuous." Padilla submitted a $12,000 deposit for the recount on April 12. He opted for a machine recount, in which ballots are re-screened by a machine, rather than a much more expensive manual recount, in which volunteers would count each ballot by hand. Election officials estimated the cost of the machine recount at around $80,000, whereas a manual recount could have cost upwards of $400,000. The recount began on April 15. According to reporting by

KNTV KNTV (channel 11), branded NBC Bay Area, is a television station licensed to San Jose, California, United States, serving the San Francisco Bay Area. It is owned and operated by the NBC television network through its NBC Owned Television Sta ...

, the recount is being funded by $12,000 checks from the newly-formed super PAC "Count the Vote" signed by James Sutton, an attorney who had previously represented Liccardo. On April 19, Santa Clara County Government Attorneys Association president Max Zarzana filed a complaint with the

Federal Election Commission The Federal Election Commission (FEC) is an independent agency of the United States government that enforces U.S. campaign finance laws and oversees U.S. federal elections. Created in 1974 through amendments to the Federal Election Campaign ...

, alleging that the Liccardo campaign concocted a "secret scheme to illegally coordinate with a newly-formed dark money Super PAC to do his CD-16 recount bidding" and noted Liccardo's past connections with those involved in requesting the recount. Zarzana also highlighted Liccardo's history of "backroom deals" including violations of the

California Public Records Act The California Public Records Act (Statutes of 1968, Chapter 1473; currently codified as Division 10 of Title 1 of the California Government Code) was a law passed by the California State Legislature and signed by governor Ronald Reagan in 1968 ...

for which he was previously fined $500,000. The results of the recount were finalized on May 1, with Low advancing to the general election and Simitian eliminated by a 5-vote margin, 30,261 to 30,256. On May 2, the Liccardo campaign shared internal poll results showing him with a 10-point lead over Low in a two-way race, compared with just a 5-point lead in a three-way race. The poll was completed on April 8, the day before the recount was requested. On May 20, Neighbors for Results, the super PAC supporting Liccardo almost entirely funded by billionaire

, disclosed that it paid $102,000 to the group which funded the recount, Count the Vote PAC. The attorney who represented Padilla in his recount request, Matthew Alvarez, is also listed as the treasurer of both super PACs in question. In 2018,

Bloomberg Philanthropies Bloomberg Philanthropies is a philanthropic organization that encompasses all of the charitable giving of founder Michael R. Bloomberg. Headquartered in New York City, Bloomberg Philanthropies focuses its resources on five areas: the environ ...

previously selected San Jose, which Liccardo was then mayor of, for funding and resources from the American Cities Climate Challenge, and two years later Liccardo then endorsed and served as a state co-chair on Bloomberg's presidential campaign. After this information was publicized, a second Bay Area attorney, Brian O'Grady, filed a FEC complaint claiming that the PACs violated federal campaign finance laws in order to hide their connection with Liccardo's campaign.

Post-recount results

Federal Election Commission complaint against Low campaign

In October 2024, good-government group Defend the Vote filed an FEC complaint against Low, alleging that he had spent nearly $600,000 from his state campaign account on ads that were distributed across the congressional district. Defend the Vote argued that the move violated federal campaign finance laws, as state campaigns can accept higher individual contributions than federal campaigns, and can receive political action committee and corporation donations directly. In wake of the expenditures, an attorney for Liccardo sent cease and desist letters to five TV stations that broadcast the ads. The ''Mercury News'' Editorial Board reaffirmed their endorsement of Liccardo, criticizing Low for "putting political self-interest ahead of campaign integrity."

General election

Predictions

Post-primary endorsements

Debates

Polling

Results

Notes

Partisan clients

References

External links

Official campaign websites
Sam Liccardo (D) for Congress

Evan Low (D) for Congress
{{Elections in California footer 2024 16 California 16 United States House of Representatives 16

Primary election

Candidates

Advanced to general

Initially advanced to general but eliminated after recount

Eliminated in primary

Declined

Fundraising

Endorsements

Polling

Initial certified results

Recount and involvement of Liccardo super PACs

Post-recount results

Federal Election Commission complaint against Low campaign

General election

Predictions

Post-primary endorsements

Debates

Polling

Results

Notes

References

External links