With ballots already in voters’ palms, Gov. Gavin Newsom on Monday swooped in to make a last-minute endorsement within the District 16 congressional race, selecting Assemblymember Evan Low over former San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo.
Newsom was one of many final Democratic heavyweights but to endorse within the contentious race to switch longtime U.S. Rep. Anna Eshoo, the place each candidates are of the identical occasion. Eshoo endorsed Santa Clara County Supervisor Joe Simitian within the major however has not stated whether or not she is going to decide once more forward of Election Day.
“Evan Low embodies the very best of California’s values,” Newsom stated in a press release first shared with POLITICO. “We have worked shoulder-to-shoulder on some of our state’s most pressing issues, from protecting reproductive rights to tackling affordability for California families. Evan’s proven track record of delivering for Bay Area families makes him exactly the kind of representative CD-16 voters deserve in Washington; I am proud to endorse his bid for Congress.”
Low in a press release stated he’s “absolutely thrilled and deeply honored” to safe Newsom’s endorsement.
“Over the past five years, I’ve been proud to stand by his side, tackling California’s biggest challenges — from affordable housing and supporting middle-class families to protecting our democracy,” Low stated. “His leadership and vision for California have been an inspiration. Now, together, let’s make history!”
Low has scooped up different key Democratic endorsements together with the California Democratic Get together and the California Labor Federation.
Larry Gerston, a professor emeritus of political science at San Jose State College, known as it “a bit of a mystery” as to why the governor would determine to endorse in a Democrat versus Democrat race.
“It’s unusual for a person in high office to go ahead and pick one of the two members of his party as a favorite with his endorsement, simply because if the other person wins, the relationship could be harmed,” he stated.
With Election Day subsequent week, Gerston stated the endorsement might need additionally come too late to have an effect on voters. If the governor would have weighed in on the race earlier, Gerston stated Low might need had extra of a chance to make use of the endorsement on commercials and even maintain a fundraising occasion collectively.
Low’s marketing campaign despatched out a fundraising textual content and e-mail with the information of the endorsement on Monday evening.
“I just don’t understand why it happened this late in the campaign,” Gerston stated. “It just doesn’t have nearly the punch it might have.”
