SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO — In early vote counting Tuesday night, California Assembly Speaker Pro Tempore Kevin Mullin held a strong early lead against opponent David Canepa, a San Mateo County supervisor, in the race for the 15th Congressional District, a safe Democrat seat being vacated by longtime Rep. Jackie Speier.
Early results in San Mateo County on Wednesday showed Mullin with 56.48% of the vote ahead of opponent Canepa with 43.52%. The margin is smaller in San Francisco, with Mullin leading by less than 600 votes with 52.4% to Canepa’s 47.6%.
The two San Mateo County politicians were the favorite candidates to replace Speier after the June Democratic primary. In the months since the primary, with a double-digit lead to beat, Mullin solidified his top-spot position by gaining coveted endorsements, including one from Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who represents a neighboring district.
“We are thrilled by the early results,” Mullin said in an interview Tuesday night. “I think it’s an affirmation that the voters are rewarding the track record over 10 years of representing the area but really it’s an indicator of the love that the community has for Jackie Speier.”
Since the June primary when Mullin received over 40% of the vote to Canepa’s 25%, the county supervisor has been on the trail up and down the Peninsula in hopes of picking up any voters he can before the general election, in part by donning himself as the “most progressive candidate” in the race.
Canepa sought to close the gap by emphasizing key issues facing Californians, including Medicare for all, free college education, and expanding social services and housing production. Though both candidates touted policies that would find a safe place in the left wing of the party, Canepa believes his left-wing campaign moved Mullin to the left on key issues.
In an interview Tuesday night, Canepa said he was encouraged by the results, saying he was “rather surprised” by the showing.
“While we did not win this race, I do think that if there are other opportunities or offices to make a change in the future, we have really established ourselves in San Mateo County,” Canepa said. “A lot of it was done through a grassroots effort. The showing really says to me that not taking corporate PAC money does work; it does resonate with voters. I’m really, really pleased.”
Open congressional seats are a rarity in the Bay Area, where incumbents like Rep. Zoe Lofgren in San Jose and Rep. Barbara Lee of Oakland have served several terms over decades now. Both won their seats again Tuesday.
When first announced she would not seek re-election to her seat in November last year, opening the 15th Congressional District seat to veteran politicians like Mullin and Canepa, it came as a shock to many on the Peninsula. Speier, who survived the 1978 Jonestown massacre, has represented the Peninsula since 2008.
She endorsed Mullin, which gave him an early boost in his campaign. Mullin was a former aide to Speier and also received endorsements from a number of elected officials, including California Attorney General Rob Bonta, California State Treasurer Fiona Ma and California Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis.
Mullin, who has served in the state Assembly since 2012, first began his foray into politics as a South San Francisco council member in 2007. Four years later, he became mayor. He has also represented San Mateo County cities on the Metropolitan Transportation Commission.
In his first term as an assemblyman, Mullin served as assistant speaker pro tempore until he was sworn in as speaker pro tempore in December 2014.
Other candidates blasted the Democratic establishment for appearing to tap Mullin before voters got a chance to know all the candidates.
Minutes after Speier endorsed Mullin, Canepa blasted out an email touting his own fundraising numbers and calling the endorsement by Speier and other top Democrats a “coronation.”
Canepa has long been a voice for progressive politics on the county board, championing issues like homelessness prevention, housing production, health-care access and social issues. The son of a chauffeur and a bank manager, Canepa is a fourth-generation San Mateo County resident who previously served as mayor of Daly City and president of the county Board of Supervisors.
Mullin said Tuesday that Canepa should be “proud of the work ethic he demonstrated and the effort he put into the campaign.”
