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In one of the
nation’s critical Congressional races, Democrat Mike Honda
Tuesday night pulled ahead of Republican Jim Cunneen in the race
for California’s 15th District.
With a quarter of the vote counted, Honda led Cunneen, 53.8 percent
to 42.9 percent.
The race between the two members of the state Assembly is considered
pivotal in the battle for control of the House of Representatives.
Going into the election, Republicans held a 13-seat advantage.
The two candidates seek the seat vacated by Republican Tom Campbell,
who is running for Senate against incumbent Democrat Dianne Feinstein.
Running north from Santa Cruz into San Jose, Santa Clara, and parts
of Sunnyvale, the 15th District encompasses the heart of Silicon
Valley.
The high-profile race has drawn party heavyweights, including Democratic
presidential nominee Al Gore, President Bill Clinton, and Republican
presidential nominee George W. Bush, to the valley to stump for
the candidates.
It has also attracted prominent valley business and high-tech leaders,
who stuffed campaign coffers and helped pay for last-minute television
and radio advertisements.
Although Honda and Cunneen have engaged in negative attacks in recent
weeks, on many issues they are remarkably similar. Both are committed
to education, health care, abortion rights, free trade with China,
and expansion of the H1-B visa system for foreign workers.
Where they differ is on issues such as abolishing the federal estate
tax and lowering the capital gains tax, both of which Cunneen supports
and Honda opposes. And while Honda opposes school vouchers, Cunneen
says he supports locally-controlled public charter schools.
The main difference between the two candidates is style.
Honda, 59, has a long record as a civic leader with strong backing
from traditionally Democratic groups such as labor unions, teachers,
and immigrants.
A former Peace Corps volunteer, high school science teacher, principal,
San Jose Unified school board member, and Santa Clara County supervisor,
Honda has served two terms on the state Assembly representing San
Jose and unincorporated Santa Clara County.
Cunneen, 39, comes across as the savvy "New Economy" politician—a
fiscally conservative but socially moderate Republican in tune with
the concerns of high-tech business.
A former aide to both Tom Campbell and former state Senator Becky
Morgan, Cunneen has served three terms in the Assembly representing
Cupertino, Saratoga, Campbell, Los Gatos, Monte Sereno, and portions
of Los Altos, Sunnyvale, and San Jose.
Cunneen has also worked in the high-tech sector as an executive
for Applied Materials in Santa Clara.
Honda has been endorsed by Asian-American organizations and professional
groups such as the California Nurses Association and Santa Clara
County firefighters. Cunneen has endorsements from the San Jose
Mercury News, San Francisco Chronicle, and Santa Cruz Sentinel,
as well as high marks from the Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce.
The race hit a low point two weeks ago when Republican supporters
of Cunneen sent out a controversial mailing outlining Honda's track
record on crime issues.
The mailing, created and distributed by the National Republican
Congressional Committee on behalf of Cunneen, ran a picture of Honda
and an image of jail cell bars under the phrase "Mike Honda's
Criminal Record."
The mailing outraged Honda supporters, who said it created the false
impression that Honda had a criminal record of his own.
Media outlets that had previously endorsed Cunneen also chimed in,
saying the mailing was not only misleading but particularly insensitive
in light of Honda's experience as a child in a Japanese-American
internment camp in Colorado during World War II.
Cunneen said he had no prior knowledge of the mailing and did not
endorse it.
But that was not enough to satisfy the Honda camp, which said Cunneen
should have apologized to Honda instead of refusing to take responsibility
for the attack.
Honda has also gotten heat from the media for his attempts to pigeonhole
Cunneen as a hard-core supporter of the National Rifle Association.
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