U.S. House, California - 16th District
Most of San Jose
Race Information
- Incumbent: Rep. Zoe Lofgren, D
- First Elected: 1994 (7th term)
- Last Elected: 2006 (72.71%)
- Incumbent Status: Running for re-election
- Race Forecast: Safe Democrat
District Information
Politics in America District Profile
The 16th includes two-thirds of San Jose, California’s third-largest city, where 92 percent of district residents live. The remainder live in unincorporated areas of Santa Clara County.
The tremendous growth during the technology boom of the 1990s — which earned San Jose the reputation as “the capital of Silicon Valley”— created a largely white-collar workforce and helped to establish the area as a leading exporter of high-technology goods. After an economic downturn earlier this decade, unemployment levels rebounded to roughly 5 percent by the end of 2004. Housing prices remained high, and Santa Clara County has the area’s highest median income.
Major technology firms in the 16th include Cisco Systems, Adobe, IBM’s Almaden research facility and a Hitachi unit focused on supply chain management. San Jose also has several large medical centers — Good Samaritan Hospital employs nearly 2,000 people — and is home to financial management software company Intacct. Local government and San Jose State University are major public sector employers.
One of the most ethnically diverse districts in the Bay Area, the 16th’s Asian population — the ninth-highest in the country at more than 23 percent — includes the nation’s second-largest Vietnamese community. Hispanics constitute a plurality of district residents (38 percent), and whites make up 32 percent of the population. The district’s recent growth has resulted in one of the state’s lowest populations over the age of 64.
The 16th is solidly Democratic, and an influx of Hispanics has helped to keep it that way. White-collar workers are becoming more common and could begin to shift the district’s politics to the right, but John Kerry still commanded 63 percent of the district’s vote in the 2004 presidential election, and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger was held under 50 percent of the vote here in 2006 while capturing 56 percent of the vote statewide.
Major Industry
Technology, health care, finance
Cities
San Jose (pt.), 590,306; Alum Rock (unincorporated), 13,479
notable
The Tech Museum of Innovation, a mango-colored building in downtown San Jose, welcomes hundreds of thousands of visitors to its exhibits, galleries and educational center.
- Demographics (2000 census)
- Population: 639,088
- Under 18: 27.3%
- Over 65: 8.0%
- Married: 53.4%
- Non-Hispanic White: 32%
- Black: 3%
- Hispanic: 38%
- Asian: 23%
- Foreign Born: 37.0%
- Language other than English: 54%
- Median Household Income: 67,689
- Owner Occupied Housing: 64.1%
- Income above $200k: 5.3
- Workforce/Education (2000 census)
- White Collar: 60.9%
- Blue Collar: 25%
- Services: 13.9%
- Bachelor's Degree: 27%
- Graduate Education: 8.8%
- Civilian Veterans: 35,203
Year | Election | Candidate | Votes | Percent |
---|---|---|---|---|
2008 | general | Zoe Lofgren (D) | 108,497 | 71.4% |
Charel Winston (R) | 36,561 | 24.1% | ||
Steven Wells (LIBERT) | 6,904 | 4.5% | ||
2006 | general | Zoe Lofgren (D) | 98,929 | 72.7% |
Charel Winston (R) | 37,130 | 27.3% | ||
2004 | general | Zoe Lofgren (D) | 129,222 | 70.9% |
Douglas McNea (R) | 47,992 | 26.3% | ||
Markus Welch (LIBERT) | 5,067 | 2.8% | ||
2002 | general | Zoe Lofgren (D) | 72,370 | 67% |
Douglas McNea (R) | 32,182 | 29.8% | ||
Dennis Umphress (LIBERT) | 3,434 | 3.2% |
Year | Democrat | Republican | Independent |
---|---|---|---|
2004 | John Kerry: 63% | George W. Bush: 36% | |
2000 | Al Gore: 62% | George W. Bush: 32% |