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For the first time in two decades, a Silicon Valley congressmember is retiring, a move that will shake up the South Bay’s political landscape — with many local Democrats reportedly eyeing the seat.
Rep. Anna Eshoo announced on Nov. 21 that she is ending her three-decade congressional career at the end of her term in 2024. She shared her decision in a video.
Eshoo, who earned notoriety for spearheading cybersecurity, innovation and high-tech legislation, was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1992 after serving on the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors for a decade.
Her retirement marks a monumental shift in Silicon Valley politics. Eshoo is a powerhouse politician who rose through the ranks as a senior member earning coveted committee assignments in Washington on health care, energy and commerce. As news spread about Eshoo’s decision to call it quits late Monday, speculation circled about who will run for the competitive seat to represent District 16.
The district includes a large swath of Santa Clara County, including Palo Alto, Menlo Park, Mountain View, parts of San Jose, and San Mateo County.
Anna Eshoo announces her retirement. Courtesy Kingston Media on Vimeo.
Candidates rumored for the seat include California Sen. Josh Becker, Assemblymember Evan Low, Santa Clara County Supervisor Joe Simitian and former San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo. Rishi Kumar, a former member of the Saratoga City Council who challenged Eshoo in 2020 and in 2022, also plans to run, he said in an email Tuesday afternoon.
In a video announcing her decision, Eshoo thanked her constituents and cited some of the 66 bills that she had authored and that had been signed by five different presidents, including ones focusing on advancing biotech, building homes for veterans and making health care more affordable.
“Over all the years, my legislation and my votes have reflected the values of my constituents: strengthen our democracy, protect our national security, protect our union by making it fairer for all, and build an economy that lifts up everyone,” she said in the video.
She also assured her constituents that in her last year in Congress, she will “continue to work with vigor and unswerving commitment to you,” Eshoo said.
In addition to the video, her campaign issued a statement on Tuesday informing her constituents that she will not seek another term.
“As the first Democrat and first woman to ever represent this distinguished congressional district, no one could ever be prouder than me to carry our Democratic Party values,” she said in the statement. “The grassroots of our party is where I came from, including being the first woman to serve as chair of our party in San Mateo County and then serve as a member of the Democratic National Committee.”
Becker said Silicon Valley should take a moment to appreciate Eshoo and her distinguished career before rushing to replace her. He is still weighing his options, sources told San Jose Spotlight. The first-term legislator would have to vacate his seat in Sacramento to make the leap.
Becker said late Monday he has “tremendous respect” for the veteran congressmember.
“She is a combination we’ve never seen before of warmth, strength and effectiveness,” the senator told San Jose Spotlight. “She’s so hard working, and with the utmost integrity and love of America and our institutions. Let’s take a moment to celebrate her years of service before we rush to find her successor.”
Simitian also praised Eshoo’s accomplishments. He has not been shy about his intentions to run for Congress.
“I’ve been clear in the past that if Anna ran again, she’d have my support and if so did not run, I would expect to be a candidate,” Simitian told the Weekly in an interview Tuesday.
Simitian said a “formal announcement” about his candidacy will be coming next week. San Jose Spotlight reported the longtime supervisor had launched a campaign committee to explore a congressional run more than a decade ago and raised about $600,000 as of December. In the meantime, he said the focus should be on Eshoo’s significant accomplishments.
“We ought to take some time to say thank you to Anna Eshoo for tremendous service throughout the course of her career,” Simitian said. “The attention ought to be on Anna and her contributions to the region.”
Becker told the Weekly that he expected Eshoo to run for another term and that he has not made a decision on whether to run for her seat. Becker is no stranger to Washington, D.C., having served as press secretary in the 1990s for U.S. Rep. Marjorie Margolies-Mezvinsky.
He said plans to discuss his options with his family in the the coming weeks. A key consideration, he said, is on where he can make the biggest impact. Becker also noted that he loves his current job, which gives him the opportunity to help shape California’s energy, transportation and social justice policies.
“It’s a tremendous platform to have impact for my constituents. I really value that role that the voters have given me,” Becker said Tuesday.
Former Congressman Mike Honda told San Jose Spotlight he heard about Eshoo’s planned retirement late Monday. The news caught him by surprise, he said.
“She’s been successful at the local and state level as Zoe and myself had been,” Honda said. “It was a situation where she wants to figure out if she wants to spend another two years in Congress with the crazy leadership.”
Eshoo, 80, is of Assyrian and Armenian heritage. She joined other congressional leaders this month to call on Israel to implement a temporary humanitarian pause in the ongoing Israel-Hamas war. The pause would minimize harm and enable aid to reach civilians, she said.
“We share Secretary Blinken’s view that a humanitarian pause is a ‘critical mechanism for protecting civilians while enabling Israel to achieve its objective of defeating Hamas,'” Eshoo and her colleagues said in a statement.
Among other accomplishments, Eshoo has championed efforts to defend consumers, promote clean energy technology and protect the environment.
U.S. Rep. Kevin Mullin, whose district covers a large portion of San Mateo County, was among those who expressed his appreciation for Eshoo. In a statement that he posted on X, Mullin called her a “living legend for the Peninsula and Silicon Valley.”
Her retirement from Congress next year, combined with the recent departure of Jackie Speier from Congress, signals “a remarkable transition for Peninsula politics,” Mullin said.
“For over three decades, Anna has set the standard for constituent service and delivering for her district,” he wrote. “She is universally respected and revered, and her district and the Congress has benefitted greatly from her steady and moral leadership during some the most challenging times our country has faced.”
Palo Alto Weekly reporter Gennady Sheyner contributed to this story. The article will be updated as more information becomes available.
An original version of this story was published by San Jose Spotlight.