It has been just over 3 weeks since election night on March 5th and the primary race for California’s 16th district is still undecided. California’s 16th district spans across Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties and includes Foothill Campus. While former San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo comfortably won first place by over 8,000 votes, Santa Clara County Supervisor Joe Simitian and Assemblymember Evan Low have been waiting to see who will face off against Liccardo in the fall. As of writing on 3/27/2024 Simitian only leads Low by 4 votes.

The margin of victory for whoever comes out on top will likely be so small that a handful of votes could have made the difference. This stands out even more when you look at how many people did not vote. There are over 440,000 registered voters in the 16th district while just 181,000 turned out. With over 220,000 people staying home only 4 people are making the difference as of today.

While both Simitian and Low are both Democrats they represent very different wings of the party. Simitian, endorsed by retiring Congresswoman Anna Eshoo, represents the more centrist wing of the party. Low, endorsed by the 17th Congressional district representing Rho Khanna, represents the more progressive wing of the party supporting policies like Medicare For All.

With that in mind, it seems like a very small number of voters will make a big difference in what choices we have this fall. A reminder that your vote is important!