Assemblymember Evan Low jumps into race to replace U.S. Rep. Anna Eshoo

Assemblymember Evan Low is officially jumping into the race to replace longtime U.S. Rep. Anna Eshoo in what could make him the first openly LGBTQ congressmember to represent the Bay Area.

Low announced his congressional bid Tuesday morning — two weeks after Eshoo said she wouldn’t seek re-election. The assemblymember was on the short list of names local politicos expected to vie to replace her after nearly three decades in Congress. Eshoo’s District 16 seat represents large sections of the Peninsula and the South Bay, running from Pacifica in the north to San Jose, Los Gatos and Pescadero in the south.

Low told The Mercury News that he sees this as an “incredible opportunity to continue the legacy of Congresswoman Anna Eshoo.”

“Our region here in Silicon Valley, we expect exceptionalism,” he said. “So I take that job very seriously.”

The 40-year-old lawmaker got his political start at a young age when in 2006 he became the first Asian American and openly gay individual to be elected to the Campbell City Council. A few years later in 2009, he became the mayor of Campbell, making him the youngest Asian American and youngest LGBTQ mayor in the country at the time.

In 2014, Low was elected to the California State Assembly for the first time. He currently serves as the chair of the Asian American and Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus and the co-chair of the Legislative Technology and Innovation Caucus. He’s also the former chair of the LGBTQ Caucus.

His current District 26 seat encompasses parts of San Jose, Santa Clara, Sunnyvale and Cupertino.

If elected, Low said he will focus on “bread and butter key core issues” like public safety, as well as Silicon Valley retaining its “competitiveness with global innovation.”

“It’s no surprise that something everyday residents want is to be safe in our communities,” he said.