Politico's Emily Schultheis reports that the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), a pro-LGBT group, has endorsed U.S. Representative Mike Honda (D-San Jose) in what could end up being the most competitive and perhaps most expensive U.S. House race in not only California, but the country. Honda's biggest challenge in the 17th Congressional District is from fellow Democrat Ro Khanna.
In a statement, HRC COO Ana Ma praised Honda, saying he is "not only a supporter of LGBT equality, he is a champion in the fight."As
reported on IVN, Honda enjoyed easy election victories before the implementation of the nonpartisan, top-two primary, authored by the Independent Voter Project (IVP) and approved by voters under Proposition 14 in 2010. Since 2000, when he was first elected in the 15th district, Honda didn't have to face a single primary challenger until 2012 -- the first year California used the new primary system -- and consistently sailed through the general election with around 70 percent of the vote.
However, just two years after "Top-Two" was implemented, Honda's seat went from one of the safest in the country to one of the most competitive. Khanna entered the race with support from major players in Silicon Valley, who quickly helped him raise over $1.2 million in Second Quarter 2013. This, according to IVN contributor Alex Gauthier, put him among "political heavyweights like Paul Ryan (R-Wisconsin) and Mark Udall (D-Colorado), who managed to top seven figures in just three months as well."
Since then, Khanna has raised a total of $2,467,964, according to OpenSecrets.org. Honda, on the other hand, has raised $1,900,093. However, the incumbent has support from many Democratic lawmakers and leaders, including the endorsement of President Barack Obama.
Along with Honda and Khanna, Republicans Vanila Singh and Joel Vanlandingham will also be on the ballot in the June 3 primary.
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