Last updated 8 p.m.
Incumbent Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen appears to be cruising to outright reelection on Tuesday, marking an easy end to the first contested election he’s faced since he first took office in 2010.
As of 8 p.m. with 45% of the votes counted, Rosen is enjoying a comfortable lead with 60.38% or 87,619 votes, according to early results. In second place is former Santa Clara County Deputy District Attorney Daniel Chung with 23.14% or 33,575 votes. Deputy Public Defender Sajid Khan is in third with 16.48% of the vote or 23,907 votes.
Rosen did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Chung told thecupertinodigest.com he’s pleased with coming in second, and he won’t concede the race because there are more ballots to be counted.
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“Given the amount of money and endorsements (they had), for me to be pulling No. 2 on preliminary results is extraordinary,” Chung said. “I think my message really resonates with people. They really understand that my beliefs about the criminal justice system and about public safety issues are real and something we need to address in a systematic way.”
Khan said he’s proud of his campaign with its grassroots support and the issues it raised.
“We’re really excited to see how this night unfolds,” he told thecupertinodigest.com.
Rosen, a 54-year-old Democrat, was elected as DA in 2010. He joined the office in 1995 and before that worked in entertainment litigation for a couple of years in Los Angeles. Rosen received his bachelor’s degree from UCLA and received his juris doctorate at UC Berkeley.
He is endorsed by Santa Clara County Supervisor and San Jose mayoral candidate Cindy Chavez, Assemblymember Evan Low and the San Jose Police Officers’ Association. As of April, Rosen has raised over $532,000.
Chung, a 33-year-old former Santa Clara County deputy DA, joined the DA’s office in 2018 where he prosecuted violent felonies and domestic violence cases. Prior to that he worked in the DA’s office in Bronx County, New York. He received his undergraduate degree from Harvard College and a law degree from Columbia Law School. He is not affiliated with any political party.
Chung is endorsed by the Los Gatos Police Officers Association and Gilroy Councilmembers Dion Bracco and Carol Marques. As of April his campaign has raised over $22,500.
Khan, a 39-year-old deputy public defender, has worked for the Santa Clara County Public Defender’s Office for nearly 14 years and previously served as a deputy public defender in Contra Costa County. He received his undergraduate degree from UC Berkeley and his law degree from UC Hastings.
Khan, a registered Democrat, is endorsed by Assemblymember Alex Lee, Working Families Party of California and Services Employees International Union-United Health Care Workers. As of April he has raised over $321,000.
Contact Eli Wolfe at [email protected] or @EliWolfe4 on Twitter.
The post Jeff Rosen leads in early results for Santa Clara County District Attorney appeared first on thecupertinodigest.com.