Congress endorsements reflect candidates’ political leanings, professional history

As they sprint toward the March 5 primary election, candidates seeking to succeed U.S. Rep. Anna Eshoo in the House of Representatives are getting political boosts from camps that reflect their experiences and political leanings.

Former San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo, who often touts his experience as a leader of a major city, has secured endorsements from other big-city mayors, including former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and former Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf. San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, who succeeded Liccardo, is also backing Liccardo’s campaign.

Santa Clara County Supervisor Joe Simitian, who has represented Peninsula communities at the local, county and state levels for more than two decades, has the backing from two powerful pillars of the region’s political establishment: Eshoo and former U.S. Rep. Jackie Speier. He is also the favored candidate of dozens of local elected officials throughout the Peninsula, including the majority of the council members in Menlo Park, Palo Alto and Mountain View. Four of the seven council members in Palo Alto — Mayor Greer Stone, Vice Mayor Ed Lauing and council members Pat Burt and Vicki Veenker — have endorsed his candidacy, notwithstanding the fact that two of their council colleagues — Julie Lythcott-Haims and Greg Tanaka — are competing against Simitian in the March 5 primary.

Lythcott-Haims, an author and a staunch advocate for building more housing, has endorsements from the pro-housing groups YIMBY Action and Peninsula for Everyone as well as from former mayors Larry Klein (Palo Alto), Giselle Hale (Redwood City) and Laura Martinez (East Palo Alto).

And on the national stage, her candidacy boasts endorsements from by U.S. Sen. Cory Booker and U.S. Rep. Lois Frankel, as well as the group EMILY’S List, which supports pro-choice female candidates.

Tanaka, meanwhile, lists Andrew Yang, former presidential candidate and founder of Forward Party, on his roster of endorsers — a list that also includes dozens of tech executives, small business owners and council members from other communities, including Omar Din of Sunnyvale, Anthony Pham of Milpitas and Sabina Zafar of San Ramon.

Peter Dixon, a Marine Corps veteran and former CEO of a cybersecurity company, is the preferred candidate of national figures with military backgrounds, many of whom live outside California. His list of endorsers includes retired Gen. Stanley McChrystal, who took on Al-Qaeda as commander of the Joint Special Operations Command between 2003 and 2008, as well as eight sitting Congress members with military backgrounds: Jason Crow, Mikie Sherill, Don Davis, Chrissy Houlahan (who also endorsed Julie Lythcott-Haims), Pat Ryan, Seth Moulton, Jared Golden and Chris Deluzio. He has also been endorsed by VoteVets, a political action committee that focuses on national security.

By contrast, most of Assembly member Evan Low’s prominent endorsers are politicians with California roots. His list of supporters includes dozens of established California politicians, including U.S. Sen. Laphonza Butler, state Treasurer Fiona Ma, Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalakis and Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara. His campaign is also being endorsed by former U.S. Rep. Mike Honda and former county supervisors Rich Gordon (from San Mateo County) and Ken Yeager (from Santa Clara County).

Low has also received endorsements from the LGBTQ+ Victory Fund, Equality PAC and Equality California. He has also won the backing of numerous labor organizations, including the International Fire Fighters Association, the California Labor Federation, the South Bay Labor Council and the San Mateo Labor Council.

Some endorsements are based on common political ideology or professional background. Joby Bernstein, a graduate student at Stanford University who specializes in investments to combat climate change, lists dozens of fellow students and professors on his endorsement page.

Ahmed Mostafa, an attorney and former policy adviser at Google who has strongly advocated for a cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war, had a fundraiser on Feb. 23 with U.S. Rep. Jamaal Bowman, a member of the progressive group of Democratic politicians informally known as “the Squad.” And Rishi Kumar, a former Saratoga council member who has strongly criticized Sacramento’s housing mandates that infringe on local land-use decisions, has the support of local elected officials with similar views, including Palo Alto council member Lydia Kou and former Cupertino Mayor Steven Scharf.

Kumar also boasts an endorsement from Susan Kirsch, director of Catalysts, a state group that campaigns against state laws that it believes undermine local control.