Ro Khanna Officially Challenges Congressman Mike Honda

Who is Ro Khanna?

The Fremont resident, high-tech attorney and former Obama administration official will try to make his name a local household word as he seeks to oust Congressman Mike Honda in the 2014 race for the 17th Congressional District.

Khanna, a democrat, officially tossed his hat into the ring Tuesday against Honda, also a democrat.

Both men have grabbed at President Obama's coattails but in different ways.

Khanna can point to several Obama-campaign veterans on his team, according to an article in the Oakland Tribune. They include:

• campaign consultant Jeremy Bird,
• campaign chairman Steve Spinner, and
• advertising guru Larry Grisolano. 

Meanwhile, Honda, who anticipated Khanna's challenge, won President Obama's personal endorsement in January, an unusual move so far in front of an election, especially by an incumbent who should be a clear favorite.

But California politics have been shaken up by the new open primary, in which all voters, regardless of party, can vote in June.

Congressman Eric Swalwell turned that change to his advantage last election when he upset former Congressman Pete Stark.

Swalwell's coup had a direct bearing on the Khanna-Honda race.

Khanna had raised a $1.2 milion campaign warchest before the 2012 election, and was vague about whether he would challenge Stark then, wait until 2014, or run in a different district, according to the Daily Kos political blog.

In the wake of Swalwell's upset, Khanna shifted his attention to the 17th District, which encompasses Sunnyvale, Cupertino, Campbell, Santa Clara, Fremont, Newark, North San Jose, and Milpitas.

Honda, mindful of what happened to Stark, has been anything but complacent. He opened satellite offices in Newark and Fremont to connect with voters in these cities that were grafted on to his San Jose power base by redistricting.

Khanna will seek to capitalize on his Silicon Valley connections and expertise as, for instance, the author of a book on manufacturing.

The Khanna-Honda match will have a high-profile notes East Bay political blogger Marga Lacabe.

"Both the San Jose Mercury News and the San Francisco Chronicle are salivating at the possibility of a Honda-Khanna race," she wrote in an analysis of the race.

Indeed, the New York Times has characterized the contest as an inter-generational struggle between Honda -- who lived through World War II internment of Japanese -- and Khanna, a representative of the fast-growing and influential Indian ethnic group.

"The attention focused on this potential contest underscores the diversity, and possibly emerging rivalries, among different Asian groups," the Times wrote several weeks ago before Khanna officially announced his candidacy.

What issues do you want to see discussed in a race for Congress?

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