Election Day Scorecard

One indicator of the political strength of an organization or individual is the success of the candidates they endorse, particularly in contested races for open seats.  In the hotly contested race for the open seat in the 27^th Assembly District, which pitted Ash Kalra, endorsed by Labor, against Madison Nguyen, endorsed by the Chamber of Commerce, Mayor and the Mercury News, both candidates advanced to the November Election.  Below is a scorecard for the three open seats on the San Jose City Council, which will determine the balance of power there.

“W” signifies that their candidate is advancing to the November runoff.

“L” signifies that their candidate is NOT advancing to the November runoff.

There are several takeaways from the Primary Election results:

• The fact that the Chamber spent a lot of money on mail for their endorsed candidates had little impact
• Labor’s grassroots field campaign works
• The Mercury’s only winning candidate was also endorsed by Labor
• The Mayor has no coattails

The bad results for the Chamber and the Mayor are compounded by the fact that both endorsed incumbent Manh Nguyen for reelection in City Council District 4, and challenger Lan Diep beat him.  Last year the Chamber and the Mayor backed Lan Diep in the District 4 special election, with the Chamber spending about $300,000 for Lan, but Lan lost. This year the Chamber and the Mayor both picked the losing candidate again, alienating Lan in the process.

*Although Labor did not endorse Jimmy Nguyen or Sylvia Arenas, the two candidates in the District 8 general election, both are labor-friendly.

**The Chamber endorsed EVERY candidate except Labor-backed Sergio Jimenez. Their “anyone but Sergio” strategy was unsuccessful, as Sergio came in first.

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