California 17th District Seat No Longer ‘Safe’ For Mike Honda

Mike Honda
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The race for California’s 17th congressional district seat would have been a slam-dunk only 2 election cycles ago. Following the implementation of Proposition 14, the nonpartisan top two primary system, and redistricting, it may not be the case. Incumbent Mike Honda (D-San Jose) is facing off against an up and coming Democrat, who may have been easily swept under the rug through a Democrat-only primary. Likewise, Representative Honda hasn’t had a serious challenger in more than a decade and is currently serving his seventh term in the legislature.

Challenger Ro Khanna posted a staggering $1.2 million in campaign fundraising late Tuesday. The second quarter sum puts Khanna in the ranks of political heavyweights like Paul Ryan (R-Wisconsin) and Mark Udall (D-Colorado) who managed to top seven figures in just three months as well. While more than tripling Honda’s second quarter showing of $345,000, the Khanna campaign has made significant inroads with the Silicon Valley tech industry.

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Khanna has been able to win the wallets of some influential Silicon Valley names. According to Mercury News, Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg and Yahoo President and CEO Marissa Mayer were among those who donated to his campaign.

Conversely, Honda has won the endorsements of many establishment Democrats; including President Barack Obama, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, and Senators Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein. After defeating Republican challenger Evelyn Li by nearly 50 points in 2012, Honda may well have a serious campaign fight ahead of him.

Khanna’s tenure with the Commerce department under president Barack Obama may hurt his chances with Republican voters. However, if the November ballot comes down to Honda and Khanna, Khanna’s new approach to promoting Silicon Valley interests could peel away a significant portion of the nearly 30 percent of non-affiliated voters or even some of the district’s 19 percent of Republicans.

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  1. David Vincent I am disillusioned by the national primary system currently in place, and while I thought I would find some fault with the situation where one party stacks two candidates against each other in the same district, I have come to see that it certainly has its "pros" and "cons." For one, I think it allows voters to pick the candidate (from their party preference) that BEST stands for their political positions. However, it arguably alienates (or at least potentially alienates) demographics that seldom participate in primaries and makes money, fundraising, and the interests of donors more important than (in my opinion) they should be. I believe this is even more powerful in Dem v. Dem or Rep v. Rep races because the DNC and RNC and much less likely to spend money in districts where they know the elected representative will have to caucus with their party. Therefore, other interest groups (and their contributions) receive a more important interest in races where candidates much appeal to the party line voters.
  2. Joseph Avery This will be a great race. If Honda wins again he will have once again proven a strong representation of his constituency, even stiff and better funded competition. Either way, the most important aspect is that more voters will have the ability to have their say than they would with closed primaries.
  3. Jane Susskind This is an important race to watch. Khanna is young, he is familiar with the concerns of Silicon Valley, and could better reflect the district in that aspect. Honda tho is very popular in the area. It will be interesting to see if money really does talk in this race.
  4. Charlotte Dean dem v dem! i love these races, when i cant decide who i prefer. Usually I tend to lean toward fresh blood, though, and a decade in office is a long and venerable time to establish your influence. time to shake things up?
  5. Shawn M. Griffiths Just another example of increased competition in elections under a nonpartisan primary system and a political landscape shaped by an independent commission.
  6. Michael Higham I tend to favor Mike Honda, but competition is good regardless. Ro Khanna seems to be serious about the race judging from his numbers. It'll be fun to watch the old v. new battle for the seat, especially since it's dem v. dem
6 comments
David Vincent
David Vincent

I am disillusioned by the national primary system currently in place, and while I thought I would find some fault with the situation where one party stacks two candidates against each other in the same district, I have come to see that it certainly has its "pros" and "cons." For one, I think it allows voters to pick the candidate (from their party preference) that BEST stands for their political positions. However, it arguably alienates (or at least potentially alienates) demographics that seldom participate in primaries and makes money, fundraising, and the interests of donors more important than (in my opinion) they should be. I believe this is even more powerful in Dem v. Dem or Rep v. Rep races because the DNC and RNC and much less likely to spend money in districts where they know the elected representative will have to caucus with their party. Therefore, other interest groups (and their contributions) receive a more important interest in races where candidates much appeal to the party line voters.

Joseph Avery
Joseph Avery

This will be a great race. If Honda wins again he will have once again proven a strong representation of his constituency, even stiff and better funded competition. Either way, the most important aspect is that more voters will have the ability to have their say than they would with closed primaries.

Jane Susskind
Jane Susskind

This is an important race to watch. Khanna is young, he is familiar with the concerns of Silicon Valley, and could better reflect the district in that aspect. Honda tho is very popular in the area. It will be interesting to see if money really does talk in this race.

Charlotte Dean
Charlotte Dean

dem v dem! i love these races, when i cant decide who i prefer. Usually I tend to lean toward fresh blood, though, and a decade in office is a long and venerable time to establish your influence. time to shake things up?

Michael Higham
Michael Higham

I tend to favor Mike Honda, but competition is good regardless. Ro Khanna seems to be serious about the race judging from his numbers. It'll be fun to watch the old v. new battle for the seat, especially since it's dem v. dem

Shawn M. Griffiths
Shawn M. Griffiths

Just another example of increased competition in elections under a nonpartisan primary system and a political landscape shaped by an independent commission.