He was in the middle of one of the most hotly contested congressional races ever. Joe Simitian ended up in a tie for second place with Evan Low, triggering a request for a recount that ultimately gave Low a win by just five votes.
Now, the Santa Clara County supervisor is conceding and heading back to work.
“It's been an interesting couple of months to say the least,” he said. “I described it to a friend as ‘spending two months in quicksand.’”
The former candidate said he’s still disappointed by the narrow loss to assemblyman Low because he looked forward to a runoff in November against former San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo.
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But also says he accepted the recount and the results, and is ready to move forward.
“Today is the first day. Now that the results are clear. I could just go to the office, get the work done and not have that lingering question in the back of my mind,” Simitian said. “It’s definitely liberating, let’s put it that way.”
Watch the full exclusive interview in video player above.
