Evan Low | |
|---|---|
 Low in 2016 | |
| Member of theCalifornia State Assembly | |
| In office December 1, 2014 – November 30, 2024 | |
| Preceded by | Paul Fong |
| Succeeded by | Patrick Ahrens |
| Constituency | 28th district (2014–2022) 26th district (2022–2024) |
| Mayor ofCampbell | |
| In office December 1, 2009 – December 1, 2014 | |
| Preceded by | Michael Kotowski |
| Succeeded by | Jeff Cristina |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1983-06-05)June 5, 1983 (age 41) San Jose, California, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Education | De Anza College (AA) San Jose State University (BA) |
Evan Low (born June 5, 1983) is an American politician who served in theCalifornia State Assembly from 2014 to 2024.[1] A member of theDemocratic Party, he represented the26th Assembly district, which encompasses parts ofSilicon Valley, includingCupertino,Sunnyvale,Santa Clara and portions of northern and westernSan Jose. He was a member of theCalifornia Legislative LGBT Caucus (and served as chair from 2017 to 2018 and 2021 to 2022), and served as Chair of the California Asian American & Pacific Islander Legislative Caucus.
Prior to his election in the Assembly in 2014, Low served asMayor and City Councilmember inCampbell, California. On January 15, 2020, Low was named national co-chair ofAndrew Yang'spresidential campaign.[2] He was a candidate in the2024 election to succeedAnna Eshoo as theU.S. representative fromCalifornia's 16th congressional district, losing toSam Liccardo in the general election.
Low was born inSan Jose, California, on June 5, 1983, toChinese Americanoptometrist Arthur Low. Low grew up in San Jose and attendedLeland High School. In 2003, Low moved to neighboring Campbell.[3][4][5]
Low earned anassociate's degree fromDe Anza College inCupertino, and abachelor's degree in political science fromSan Jose State University.[4][5]
In 2004, Low unsuccessfully ran for a seat on the City Council, but he ran again in 2006 and won in his second attempt. Low worked as a senior district representative for California's former 28th State Assembly district AssemblymemberPaul Fong.[3][4]
When his colleagues selected him to become Campbell mayor in 2009, Low became the youngest openly gay, Asian American mayor in the nation.[6]
In 2013, his colleagues on the Campbell City Council selected him to serve as mayor for a second time.[7] His term on the council expired in 2014.
In 2014,Assembly SpeakerToni Atkins appointed Low as Assistant Majority Whip.[8] Low was kept in the same leadership role by Atkins's successor, SpeakerAnthony Rendon, in 2016.[9]
Low chaired the California Assembly Business and Professions Committee from March 2016 until November 2021, when he was removed without explanation by Speaker Anthony Rendon. Low was replaced byMarc Berman.[10][11]
Low is a co-founder and co-chair of the California Legislative Tech Caucus.[12] There are 24 members of the Tech Caucus.[13]
In 2014, Low supportedSCA 5, an initiative that would have asked voters to consider eliminatingCalifornia Proposition 209's ban on the use ofrace,sex,color,ethnicity, ornational origin in recruitment, admissions, and retention programs atCalifornia's public universities and colleges.[14] Proposition 209 also effectively banned affirmative action in the public contracting and employment. Low supported a similar effort to repeal Prop 209 in its entirety withACA 5 and Proposition 16 in 2020.[15] In 2023, Low also supportedACA 7, a narrower effort "that would allow state agencies to consider race if academic research shows evidence those race-based programs could work."[16][17]
In 2016, Low introduced AB 1887 that would ban all California state-funded travel to states that enacted laws to discriminate against individuals based uponsexual orientation,gender identity, andgender expression, that was supported byU.S. House of RepresentativesMinority LeaderNancy Pelosi.[12] TheCalifornia state-funded travel ban was replaced in 2023 with an advertising campaign.[18]
In 2016,New York Magazine identified Low as a potential United States presidential candidate in 2024 along with nine other young Democrats who, like Obama, have unusual ambition.[19]
In the 2017–2018 session,The Sacramento Bee identified Low as California's most prolific lawmaker, where he had the most bills signed by any member of the state legislature by Governor Jerry Brown.[20] He has also been credited with driving the future of Uber and Lyft in the California State Legislature.[21]
In 2019, Low introduced AB-57, which would allow candidates with birth names in character-based languages—such as Chinese, Japanese, and Korean—to use those names in voter requested translated ballots. Previously, candidates such asFiona Ma have hadtransliterated versions of their name (e.g. Fei O Na Ma) appear on translated ballots. The bill also required candidates without character based birth names to phonetically translate their names on translated ballots, unless they prove that they are known under a different name within the target community. AB-57 was signed into law by Governor Gavin Newsom in July 2019 and went into effect in 2020.[22]
In 2023 in SB 815, language added by Low in AB 2098, was removed from California Law due to concerns it was unconstitutional being tested in Court. JudgeWilliam B. Shubb prevented any doctors from being punished during the one year the "anti-misinformation" language was on the books.[23]
In 2023, Low announced that he would be running for Congress inCalifornia's 16th congressional district,[24] help by RepresentativeAnna Eshoo, who announced that she would be retiring after the 2024 election.
In December 2023, Low announced his intention to run forCalifornia's 16th congressional district, which was held by retiring incumbentAnna Eshoo.[25] After the primary in March 2024, Low andSanta Clara County supervisorJoe Simitian repeatedly traded the second-place position multiple times during the vote count.[26] By April 3, 2024, both Low and Simitian tied with 30,249 votes each and were expected to advance to the general election under a stipulation by California elections code regarding a second-place tie in primary elections.[26] Both campaigns released statements indicating that they intended to compete in the general election.[27]
However, after a poll believed to be conducted on behalf of supporters of first-placedSam Liccardo testing two-way match-ups was fielded,[28] two residents of the district, including former Liccardo campaign finance director and current donor Jonathan Padilla, requested a recount; Liccardo himself was ineligible to do so because he does not live in the district.[29] Liccardo's campaign denied responsibility, though they agreed the recount was necessary, saying "every vote should be counted."[30]
At the conclusion of the recount, Simitian was ultimately eliminated and Low advanced to the general election by a 5-vote margin.[31]
In October 2024, good-government group Defend the Vote[32] filed an FEC complaint against Low,[33] alleging that he had spent nearly $600,000[34] from his state campaign account on ads that were distributed across the congressional district. Defend the Vote argued that the move violated federal campaign finance laws,[35] as state campaigns can accept higher individual contributions than federal campaigns, and can receive political action committee and corporation donations directly.
In wake of the expenditures, an attorney for Liccardo sent cease and desist letters[36] to five TV stations that broadcast the ads. The Mercury News Editorial Board reaffirmed their endorsement of Liccardo,[37] criticizing Low for “putting political self-interest ahead of campaign integrity.”
In March 2025, Low was elected as the president of theLGBTQ+ Victory Fund and Leadership Institute, succeedingAnnise Parker.[38]
| Primary election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
| Democratic | Evan Low | 30,807 | 39.7 | |
| Republican | Chuck Page | 20,895 | 26.9 | |
| Democratic | Barry Chang | 19,156 | 24.7 | |
| Republican | Michael Hunsweck | 6,732 | 8.7 | |
| Total votes | 77,590 | 100.0 | ||
| General election | ||||
| Democratic | Evan Low | 71,239 | 59.4 | |
| Republican | Chuck Page | 48,645 | 40.6 | |
| Total votes | 119,884 | 100.0 | ||
| Democratichold | ||||
| Primary election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
| Democratic | Evan Low (incumbent) | 83,038 | 71.5 | |
| Republican | Nicholas Sclavos | 33,154 | 28.5 | |
| Total votes | 116,192 | 100.0 | ||
| General election | ||||
| Democratic | Evan Low (incumbent) | 136,547 | 70.0 | |
| Republican | Nicholas Sclavos | 58,641 | 30.0 | |
| Total votes | 195,188 | 100.0 | ||
| Democratichold | ||||
| Primary election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
| Democratic | Evan Low (incumbent) | 77,011 | 70.8 | |
| Republican | Michael L. Snyder | 31,776 | 29.2 | |
| Total votes | 108,787 | 100.0 | ||
| General election | ||||
| Democratic | Evan Low (incumbent) | 130,815 | 71.1 | |
| Republican | Michael L. Snyder | 53,195 | 28.9 | |
| Total votes | 184,010 | 100.0 | ||
| Democratichold | ||||
| Primary election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
| Democratic | Evan Low (incumbent) | 96,976 | 71.1 | |
| Republican | Carlos Rafael Cruz | 32,136 | 23.5 | |
| No party preference | Sam Ross | 7,350 | 5.4 | |
| Total votes | 136,462 | 100.0 | ||
| General election | ||||
| Democratic | Evan Low (incumbent) | 166,733 | 71.6 | |
| Republican | Carlos Rafael Cruz | 65,976 | 28.4 | |
| Total votes | 232,709 | 100.0 | ||
| Democratichold | ||||
After redistricting added Campbell to AssemblymemberMarc Berman's district, Low announced he would run in the new26th district spanningSunnyvale,Cupertino, andSanta Clara.[39]
| Primary election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
| Democratic | Evan Low (incumbent) | 45,916 | 66.9 | |
| Republican | Tim Gorsulowsky | 16,289 | 23.7 | |
| Democratic | Long Jiao | 6,434 | 9.4 | |
| Total votes | 68,639 | 100.0 | ||
| General election | ||||
| Democratic | Evan Low (incumbent) | 81,595 | 74.0 | |
| Republican | Tim Gorsulowsky | 28,616 | 26.0 | |
| Total votes | 136,462 | 100.0 | ||
| Democratichold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Sam Liccardo | 38,492 | 21.1 | ||
| Democratic | Evan Low | 30,261 | 16.6 | ||
| Democratic | Joe Simitian | 30,256 | 16.6 | ||
| Republican | Peter Ohtaki | 23,283 | 12.8 | ||
| Democratic | Peter Dixon | 14,677 | 8.1 | ||
| Democratic | Rishi Kumar | 12,383 | 6.8 | ||
| Republican | Karl Ryan | 11,563 | 6.3 | ||
| Democratic | Julie Lythcott-Haims | 11,386 | 6.2 | ||
| Democratic | Ahmed Mostafa | 5,814 | 3.2 | ||
| Democratic | Greg Tanaka | 2,421 | 1.3 | ||
| Democratic | Joby Bernstein | 1,652 | 0.9 | ||
| Total votes | 182,188 | 100.0 | |||
| General election | |||||
| Democratic | Sam Liccardo | 179,583 | 58.2 | ||
| Democratic | Evan Low | 128,893 | 41.8 | ||
| Total votes | 308,476 | 100.0 | |||
| Democratichold | |||||
San Francisco MayorGavin Newsom issued a proclamation naming June 5, 2006, "Evan Low Day" in the City and County of San Francisco.[6][44][45]
Assemblymember Low has been named "Legislator of the Year" by theInternet Association, TechNet, The Computing Technology Industry Association, California Faculty Association, Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association, California District Attorneys Association and Faculty Association of California Community Colleges.[46][47][48]
... following in the footsteps of his father, Dr. Art Low, a former Campbell Chamber of Commerce President and the 1994 Citizen of the Year.
[Low] wanted to become a teacher, while his father Arthur wanted him to take over his optometry business.
Low said he was rejected from every major college he applied.
