California congressional race will be traditional general election after recount

A recount in a California congressional race has broken a deadlock between two Democrats who tied for second place in the state’s primary, advancing just one to the general election.

Democrats Evan Low and Joe Simitian tied for second in the Golden State’s March primary, setting up a rare three-way general election. But new tallies in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties put only Low in a position to advance to a two-person general with the first-place candidate, fellow Democrat Sam Liccardo. 

“The good news is the 16th congressional district’s long painful exercise counting the votes is over! The not-so-good news: we have come up short. I lost, and I concede. I trust the process, and I accept the result,” Simitian said in a concession post. 

The initial results had Low and Simitian tied at 30,249 votes. In Santa Clara county, Low gained 11 votes, while Simitian gained seven. In San Mateo county, Low gained one vote, with no change for Simitian. 

The results of both counties combined to determine the new results for California’s 16th Congressional District in the race to replace Rep. Anna Eshoo (D), who is retiring after three decades in the House.  

“I want to express my gratitude to the dedicated staff of both Registrars of Voters for their meticulous efforts during this unique recount process, and to the dedicated leader who took this wild recount ride with me, Joe Simitian, whose decades of public service remain an inspiration to me,” Low said on the social platform X, with a nod to his primary rival. 

“Our elections staff has been working diligently for the past two weeks to conduct this unprecedented recount and ensure that the final results are complete and accurate,” Santa Clara Assistant Registrar of Voters Matt Morales said in a release Tuesday. “This is the largest and most complex recount we have conducted, as well as our first machine recount on our new voting system.” 

Low and Liccardo will face off in November for the Silicon Valley seat. Under California’s nonpartisan top-two system, both general election candidates are Democrats.