Of the nation’s 435 congressional districts, no seat has a higher proportion of Asian-American residents than California’s 17th District. According to the Census Bureau’s 2014 American Community Survey, 52 percent of the district is non-Hispanic Asian, compared to 5 percent nationwide. CA-17 narrowly edges Hawaii’s 1st District, located in Honolulu, for the title.
The 17th takes up a big share of Silicon Valley. It includes a large portion of San Jose but is mainly concentrated in its suburbs and smaller nearby cities. The district contains Cupertino, the headquarters of Apple Inc. and the location of plenty of other tech companies. Another district landmark is the San Fransisco 49ers new Levi’s Stadium, which is located in Santa Clara.
California’s 17th Congressional District
The 17th also contains the cities of Milpitas, Sunnyvale, Fremont, and Newark. Most of the district is concentrated in Santa Clara County, with about a quarter of the population living in Alameda County to the north. Like most districts in the Bay Area, the 17th is safely Democratic: Barack Obama carried it 72-26.
The 17th has a few other distinctions. Eighteen percent of the population is of Asian Indian descent, making this the most Indian-American district in the nation. The district is very affluent, with a median household income of $103,316, the fourth-highest in the nation. However, it costs more to rent here than in any seat in the nation, so plenty of newcomers won’t have an easy time getting settled.
This area has been represented by Democrat Mike Honda since 2001. Honda was born just before the Unites States entered World War II, and he spent much of his childhood in a Japanese American internment camp in Colorado. Honda worked as a teacher and principal and became active in local politics. Honda served on the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors and in the state Assembly before he sought a previous version of this seat in 2000 when Republican Rep. Tom Campbell left to unsuccessfully run for the Senate.
Honda was initially reluctant to run for Congress in what was seen as a swing seat, and it took a call from President Bill Clinton to help persuade him. Honda, who was backed by labor, defeated a well-funded venture capitalist in the primary and faced another expensive contest against Republican Assemblyman Jim Cunneen. In the 1990s Silicon Valley was still amenable to moderate Republicans and both parties expected a close race here, but Honda won 54-42.
Honda was safe for the next 10 years, and he amassed a solidly liberal record. Honda acted as a prominent Democratic surrogate to Asian American voters, and he served as a Democratic National Committee vice chair. In the House, Honda has taken up the cause of World War II victims of Japanese sexual slavery. Honda has urged Japan to accept responsibility for its wartime actions, but the Japanese government has been very reluctant to do it.
Honda’s string of easy re-elections came to an end in 2014, when he faced a challenge from fellow Democrat Ro Khanna, a former Obama administration official. Khanna contrasted himself with Honda, arguing that the area needed a much younger congressman with fresh ideas. National Democratic leaders, including President Obama, rallied behind Honda, while plenty of tech company executives financed Khanna. Both Democrats took the top two spots in the primary, sending them both to the general election, which Honda won 52-48.
Khanna quickly signaled that he would run in 2016, and he’s once again amassed a huge war chest. Honda got some bad headlines over the summer when the House Ethics Committee released a report saying they had "substantial reason to believe" that Honda had improperly used government staff and resources for campaign purposes. A number of influential local and state Democrats who remained neutral last time have sided with Khanna, and there’s a very good chance that he’ll be able to knock off Honda this time.
“The Most District” is an ongoing series devoted to highlighting congressional district superlatives around the nation. Click here for all posts in this series.
