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Kumar tops field of challengers for Eshoo's seat

With Eshoo poised to advance to general election, Saratoga City Council member leads behind incumbent

Rep. Anna Eshoo, left, is leading the race for the Congressional District 16 seat. Rishi Kumar, right, has held onto second place in votes as of June 9, 2022. Photo of Eshoo by Magali Gauthier. Photo of Kumar courtesy of the candidate.

Democrat Rishi Kumar is poised for a November rematch with Rep. Anna Eshoo, with Tuesday's election results showing him ahead of six other candidates vying for her congressional seat.

Early results showed Eshoo with an overwhelming lead over the seven candidates who are vying to replace her in the 16th Congressional District, which stretches along the coast from Pacifica to north San Jose. With all precincts reporting by Wednesday afternoon, Eshoo received support from 47% of voters in Santa Clara County and from 58% of voters in San Mateo County.

While Eshoo, who was first elected in 1992, is poised to advance to the November election with little trouble, Kumar faced a tough challenge for the second spot from former Menlo Park Mayor Peter Ohtaki.

The unofficial results, which don't include some vote-by-mail and provisional ballots, showed Kumar leading the field of challengers by 2,166 votes, with Ohtaki, a Republican, in third place.

In Santa Clara County, which has the vast majority of the District 16 population, Kumar had received 11,639 votes, or 16.5% of the total votes cast in the county, while Ohtaki trailed him with 8,982 votes, or 12.7%, according to results released just before 4:30 p.m. Wednesday. Republican Richard Fox and Democrats Greg Tanaka and Ajwang Rading were trailing them with 8.6%, 6.4% and 5.7%, respectively.

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In San Mateo County, 396 votes separated the top two challengers to Eshoo as of Wednesday afternoon. Ohtaki was in second place with 12% of the votes, or 1,570 total votes, while Kumar was in third with 9%, having received 1,174 votes. Fox, Rading and Tanaka were trailing them in the polls with 8.3%, 5.1% and 4.4% of the votes, respectively.

Republican Benjamin Solomon and John Karl Fredrich, who is not affiliated with any party, had each picked up less than 2% of the vote.

If the results hold up after the final tally, the November runoff will be a rematch from the 2020 general election, when Eshoo faced off against Kumar. She prevailed after picking up 63% of the vote.

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Gennady Sheyner
 
Gennady Sheyner covers the City Hall beat in Palo Alto as well as regional politics, with a special focus on housing and transportation. Before joining the Palo Alto Weekly/PaloAltoOnline.com in 2008, he covered breaking news and local politics for the Waterbury Republican-American, a daily newspaper in Connecticut. Read more >>

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Kumar tops field of challengers for Eshoo's seat

With Eshoo poised to advance to general election, Saratoga City Council member leads behind incumbent

Democrat Rishi Kumar is poised for a November rematch with Rep. Anna Eshoo, with Tuesday's election results showing him ahead of six other candidates vying for her congressional seat.

Early results showed Eshoo with an overwhelming lead over the seven candidates who are vying to replace her in the 16th Congressional District, which stretches along the coast from Pacifica to north San Jose. With all precincts reporting by Wednesday afternoon, Eshoo received support from 47% of voters in Santa Clara County and from 58% of voters in San Mateo County.

While Eshoo, who was first elected in 1992, is poised to advance to the November election with little trouble, Kumar faced a tough challenge for the second spot from former Menlo Park Mayor Peter Ohtaki.

The unofficial results, which don't include some vote-by-mail and provisional ballots, showed Kumar leading the field of challengers by 2,166 votes, with Ohtaki, a Republican, in third place.

In Santa Clara County, which has the vast majority of the District 16 population, Kumar had received 11,639 votes, or 16.5% of the total votes cast in the county, while Ohtaki trailed him with 8,982 votes, or 12.7%, according to results released just before 4:30 p.m. Wednesday. Republican Richard Fox and Democrats Greg Tanaka and Ajwang Rading were trailing them with 8.6%, 6.4% and 5.7%, respectively.

In San Mateo County, 396 votes separated the top two challengers to Eshoo as of Wednesday afternoon. Ohtaki was in second place with 12% of the votes, or 1,570 total votes, while Kumar was in third with 9%, having received 1,174 votes. Fox, Rading and Tanaka were trailing them in the polls with 8.3%, 5.1% and 4.4% of the votes, respectively.

Republican Benjamin Solomon and John Karl Fredrich, who is not affiliated with any party, had each picked up less than 2% of the vote.

If the results hold up after the final tally, the November runoff will be a rematch from the 2020 general election, when Eshoo faced off against Kumar. She prevailed after picking up 63% of the vote.

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