Ro Khanna beat Rep. Mike Honda by 4.5 percent
in Alameda County, the northern portion of CA-17.

CONGRESS | 17TH DISTRICT |
Ro Khanna’s upset primary victory over Rep. Mike Honda in the 17th Congressional District, was officially declared Thursday by the California Secretary of State’s office.

The results of Khanna’s surprise win will certainty be referenced hundreds of times from now through November. Here’s the breakdown:

Khanna beat Honda by 2,226 votes in the Fremont and South Bay district. Khanna’s 1.7 percentage point victory represents a clear upward trend for him as he seeks a second attempt at unseating Honda. He lost by nearly 20 points in the 2014 primary, then by just under 4 points in November, and overcame Honda two weeks ago. Both are Democrats.

In both counties the district runs across, Khanna registered the most support. However, in the largest portion–Santa Clara County–Khanna topped Honda by just 777 votes. In Alameda County, Khanna performed better, beating Honda by 4.5 percentage points. The result is not surprising since Khanna lives in Fremont and he enjoys strong support within its large Indo-American community.

However, in what could be a very close November election, Honda may need to focus more on Fremont, an area of the congressional district that is newest to the district. Meanwhile, voters in the entire district, clearly sent a message earlier this month that Honda’s on-going ethics investigation is significantly tamping down his support.

The true ramifications of the primary result will not begin to be fully understood until after mid-year campaign finance reports are revealed next month. Did Khanna’s performance energize new and existing donors to further fill his coffers? Will the reports begin to show signs Honda’s fundraising is suffering as some past donors possibly forecast a loss for him in November?

Khanna is already using the primary victory as a catalyst for attracting additional campaign financing. An email to supporters Thursday trumpeted Khanna as one of two Democrats in the entire country to have beaten a congressional incumbent this June and asserted, “our opponent is already ratcheting up the negativity of his campaign.”

17th Congressional District……………VOTES    PCT
PRECINCTS REPORTING 100%**
Ro Khanna (D)………………………..51919  39.1%
*Mike Honda (D)………………………49720  37.4%
Peter Kuo (R)………………………..12205   9.2% 
Ron Cohen (R)………………………..10421   7.8%
Pierluigi Oliverio(D)………………..  5521   4.2%
Kennita Watson (LP)………………….. 3115   2.3%
*incumbent
**including Santa Clara County

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