A key California congressional primary is heading for a recount after two candidates tied for second place and one Democratic candidate’s campaign isn’t happy about it, Politico reported Tuesday.
The jungle primary election — where candidates of all parties compete on the same ballot for the top two spots, to advance to the general election — in California’s 16th Congressional District produced a second-place tie between Democratic Assemblyman Evan Low of Campbell and Santa Clara County Supervisor Joe Smitian, who each gained 30,249 votes. The race will head to a recount after a former employee of the first-place candidate, former Democratic Mayor Sam Liccardo of San José, filed a request to do so, an act that was blasted by Low’s campaign, Politico reported. (RELATED: Two Candidates Tied In California Congressional Primary)
“This is a page right out of Trump’s political playbook using dirty tricks to attack democracy and subvert the will of the voters,” a spokesperson for Low told Politico. “[Liccardo] did not file a recount himself. Instead, he had his former staffer do it for him. What’s he afraid of?”
#CD16 Update
21.13% – 38,489 – Sam Liccardo (D)
16.61% – 30,249 – Evan Low (D) pic.twitter.com/07Q0Et6LT6— CATargetBot0001 (@CATargetBot0001) April 3, 2024
Unlike Low, Smitian did not publicly criticize the recount. “Eventually, this process will work itself out … My job is to stay focused on how I can best represent the folks in our district. And that’s what I’m doing,” he wrote in a statement to Politico.
A recount may change the tally of votes for either Smitian or Low, which would prevent both of them from advancing to the runoff election in November. Liccardo’s campaign, which received 8,240 votes more than Low and Smitian, denied to Politico that it was involved in the effort to force a recount but supported the measure.
“Every vote should be counted, and that’s why recounts are part of the state’s electoral process to ensure accuracy,” wrote a spokesperson for Liccardo to Politico. “We understand why, under these extraordinary circumstances, there would be an effort to make sure these votes are fully considered.”
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