Incumbent Mike Honda is said to have easy road to victory
over challenger Raymond Chukwu
Gilroy – Campaign plugs for a slew of candidates and issues are stacking up on lawns and filling up mailboxes as Tuesday’s election approaches, but few if any promotional materials focus on Silicon Valley’s congressional seat.
Political observers have predicted that incumbent Mike Honda (D – San Jose) will easily cruise to a fourth term in the U.S. House of Representatives. His district is a long sliver that starts in Milpitas, hooks through San Jose and surrounding cities known for their technology businesses, before heading south and wrapping around Gilroy and South Valley.
Republican challenger Raymond L. Chukwu, a former aerospace engineer and a Silicon Valley business leader, ran against Honda in 2004 and lost badly, with the incumbent garnering more than 70 percent of the votes.
Chukwu’s campaign Web site uses flight metaphors to champion science and technology as “the jet engine of any growing economy.” The businessman has slightly retooled the site since the last election, but political experts believe he is not likely to fare any better this time around, given Honda’s status as a well-funded incumbent in a heavily Democratic district.
Unlike his powerful Republican colleague in the 11th District in Tracy, Richard Pombo, Honda did not have to fend off challengers from within his own party for the 15th District nomination.
Honda, a former teacher and principal in San Jose, ascended to congress in 2000 after serving as a Santa Clara County supervisor. He has attained a measure of prominence within the party, earning positions as a vice-chair of the Democratic National Committee, the party’s fund-raising arm, as well as chairman of the Asian and Pacific Islander American Caucus.
Neither candidate could
be reached Thursday for comment.
During an August town hall meeting in Gilroy, Honda talked about the budget crisis America faces due to unchecked spending by the Bush Administration and a Republican-controlled congress. He said Democratic control of at least one chamber of congress – a changeover that pollsters and pundits are increasingly predicting as Tuesday approaches – is the key to balancing the budget and paying down the debt.
For more information on both candidates, visit www.chukwu4uscongress06.com or www.mikehonda.org.
