Honda, Khanna battle for endorsements in heated House rematch

The South Bay rematch between longtime San Jose Rep. Mike Honda and fellow Democrat Ro Khanna of Fremont has turned into an increasingly bitter clash of dueling endorsements, with the biggest prize still to come.

At stake is what can be a virtual lifetime congressional seat in a district so heavily Democratic that Honda and Khanna are favored to finish in the top two in the June primary, clearing the way for another Democrats-only general election in November.

Khanna, who was on the losing end of the 52 to 48 percent voting result in 2014, is now working to keep Honda, an eight-term incumbent, from getting the party endorsement at next month’s state Democratic convention in San Jose.

Khanna already has blocked Honda from getting the party’s automatic endorsement, forcing him to become one of three of the state’s 39 Democratic members of Congress to face a special pre-endorsement conference next weekend.

According to state Democratic Party officials, 24 of the 17th Congressional District’s 87 convention delegates signed a petition against giving Honda the automatic endorsement.

That opposition from grassroots party regulars in the district is “a breach in Honda’s firewall,” which has been his overwhelming support from members of the Democratic establishment, said Hari Sevugan, a spokesman for Khanna.

It’s an indication that in the district, “people’s feelings have dramatically changed,” he added.

Because this is the first time the new endorsement system has been used by the Democrats, Honda didn’t push the local convention delegates for their early support, said Vedant Patel, political director for the congressman’s re-election campaign.

“Any suggestion that support is moving away from the congressman is nonsense,” he said. “A lot of people in the party establishment are enthusiastically supporting him.”

Prestige of party’s backing

Both sides will get a chance to back up their words Saturday, when both candidates will appear at that pre-endorsement conference in Oakland. Honda needs the votes of 70 percent of the district delegates casting ballots to receive the automatic endorsement and gets no endorsement if his numbers fall below 50 percent. If all 87 delegates vote, Khanna will need 27 votes to block the endorsement.

If Honda finishes with 50 to 70 percent of the votes next weekend, the decision goes to the 76 members of the endorsement caucus at the state party convention, Feb. 26-28.

The party endorsement is important, because it opens the door to plenty of campaign help, both financial and otherwise. An endorsed candidate can appear on Democratic slate cards, join party “get out the vote” efforts, and get direct support from party officials.

The endorsement means “you have the announced support of grassroots Democrats, which can be an advantage, especially in a tight race,” said Michael Soller, a state party spokesman. “But aside from the nuts and bolts of what we do, the name identification might be more important,” because a candidate can spotlight that party nod in every piece of mail or campaign literature he or she puts out.

The dispute over the party endorsement is just the most recent dustup over who is supporting whom and what that backing might mean.

In recent months, there’s been a near-constant back and forth of ballyhooed announcements from the two candidates, with each touting any newly announced support from one politician or another as a sign of who will win in June or, more important, in November.

Khanna, for example, talked glowingly about his backing from San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo, Santa Clara District Attorney Jeff Rosen and Santa Clara County Assessor Larry Stone. Honda countered with endorsements from the mayors of Fremont, Newark, Sunnyvale and Santa Clara.

High-profile endorsements

California Secretary of State Alex Padilla and state Senate President Pro Tem Kevin de León, D-Los Angeles, like the 39-year-old Khanna, an attorney and businessman. But Honda, 74, who has been in public office since 1981, has his own Sacramento contingent, with Attorney General Kamala Harris, Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones, state Treasurer John Chiang and state Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson in his camp.

Exactly what those endorsements might mean is anybody’s guess, said Larry Gerston, professor emeritus of political science at San Jose State University.

“Endorsements have a place, but quite often they’re overvalued,” he said. “Their best use is in a close race where an endorsement from some place unexpected might make a difference,” particularly to voters who aren’t paying close attention to the race and might want to see how groups they support are leaning.

One of those surprise endorsements came last month, when the regional laborers union switched its 2014 endorsement of Honda to Khanna for this election, saying in a statement that they “honor (Khanna’s) commitment to fairness and truth.”

Because labor is an important piece of Honda’s support, his campaign was quick to respond.

While expressing disappointment in the endorsement decision, “we understand that sometimes friends disagree,” the campaign said in a statement, adding that “it is unfortunate that an organization committed to advancing the rights of working class men and women would stand with someone who has never had a track record that benefits the working class.”

More attacks on the way

Khanna’s team quickly fired back, charging that Honda was “personally attacking his primary opponent with a volley of false, debunked attacks.”

Those sharp attacks, from both sides, are likely to get louder and nastier as the June election approaches and politicians and others, both inside and outside the district, take sides in the contest.

John Wildermuth is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: jwildermuth@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @jfwildermuth