The Democratic fight brewing in the 17th District between long-time incumbent Rep. Mike Honda and political newcomer Ro Khanna took another curious turn Monday, as Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom surprisingly announced his support for Khanna’s campaign.
CA Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom endorses Silicon Vallley House candidate Ro Khanna sns.mx/quoNy3
— Gavin Newsom News (@GavinNewsomNews) April 22, 2013
Newsom’s endorsement makes him the first high-profile Democrat to break with Honda, who has earned the support of much of the Democratic establishment, including President Obama, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, and much of California’s Congressional delegation.
Khanna, a former Obama Commerce Dept. official who is closely connected with the Silicon Valley business community, launched his campaign against Honda for the 17th District seat earlier this month. He’s brought along with him a small but formidable contingency of former Obama presidential campaign staffers, who are siding with Khanna despite their former employer’s endorsement of the other guy.
Khanna has reported nearly $1 million in his campaign war chest, meaning he means business.
The seat is safely Democratic, meaning that whichever Democrat wins the primary will most likely become its next Congressman, but observers have already identified the CA17 as one of the top races to watch next year. While Honda has the advantage of incumbency and is backed by organized labor and much of the establishment, Khanna’s campaign offers a younger, more business-friendly Democrat who has vowed to fight against “old-style Washington politics.”
From the San Francisco Chronicle:
But nearly two years before the election, the race between Khanna and Honda has already sparked considerable interest — and heat — because of the potential for a generational battle in the heart of America’s technology capital.
Khanna, 36, the son of Indian-American immigrants and an attorney with deep tech roots, last week formally announced his campaign to challenge Honda, 72, a leader in the Asian Pacific Islander community and a lion of organized labor, for the CD-17 seat.
