By Frank Parlato
The primary for California’s 18th Congressional District will be on March 5, 2024.
The incumbent, long-time politician, feather-nester, and partisan above-all Democrat, Susan Ellen “Zoe” Lofgren, is expected to face off against Republican businessman Peter Hernandez and Democrat Charlene C. Nijmeh, the Chairwoman of the Muwekma Ohlone, an indigenous Tribe of the San Francisco Bay Area.
Incumbency Advantage
According to a Gallup poll from October, only 13% of U.S. adults approved the job Congress was doing. Similarly, a November poll by Statista put the approval rate at 15%.
However, according to Ballotpedia, more than 95% of congressional incumbents won their races in 2022. This paradoxical trend demonstrates that while Americans have a negative view of Congress, they re-elect their representatives.
A Double-Edged Sword
The phenomenon is widely known as the ‘incumbency advantage.’ This advantage arises from the familiarity and trust that low-information voters associate a familiar name with competence, without regard to the candidates’ positions on issues that affect them.
Lofgren Leverages Big Tech Support
An emblematic case of this is Lofgren. She has self-served in Congress for 28 years, consistently securing her seat despite her long tenure and alignment with big-money donors. Her political career began with her election in 1994, and she has managed to secure her position 14 times since then, facing her 16th campaign in 2024.
Lofgren’s success in getting re-elected despite her lopsided favoritism of Big Tech and big donors illuminates the power of incumbency in American politics.
Her relationships with wealthy donors symbolize the issues plaguing Congress’ low ratings.
The tide may be turning. Incumbency may no longer be the advantage it once was. But Lofgren is leveraging her established network and sizable campaign finances to maintain her seat. She is a great favorite of Apple, Google, Amazon, and Facebook – and her role on Congress is to protect them from competitors, handing over America’s future in so many areas – including information, retail sales, innovation, and speech to the Big Four.
Lofgren has amassed a significant campaign fund courtesy of Big Tech. And she sits on the two committees most likely to help Big Tech — the Judiciary, and Science, Space, and Technology
Critics argue that her votes for, and more importantly her opposition to bills (often smothering them in committee), which might reign in Big Tech, is what they pay for.
Boundary Changes in Lofgren’s District
Lofgren’s district, which includes parts of Santa Clara County and Silicon Valley, has been a Democratic stronghold for years. However, the 2020 Census significantly altered the South Bay and Central Coast Congressional Districts. As a result, the California Citizens Redistricting Commission created the new 18th Congressional District. This district combines parts of Santa Clara County with portions of Monterey and Santa Cruz counties, and all of San Benito County.
It shifted her safe Silicon Valley, Tech-dominated district to one now 65 percent Latino (mostly Mexican).
Why would she embrace all new voters, unfamiliar with her name, and who, if they knew her policies, would not want her as their representative?
Did the top party leaders in the Democratic Party outflank her? Did they hand her a district she did not want and had to accept?
Not at all. She is a top party leader. She wants the change.
According to Lofgren’s website, “Zoe sees great opportunities in representing this newly-redrawn district, specifically in connecting the Silicon Valley-based technology prowess with the area’s robust agricultural sector.”
The redrawing of California’s 18th Congressional District will secure her political and financial future.
The redistricting, carried out by the so-called “non-partisan” California Citizens Redistricting Commission, using the 2020 Census altered the district’s boundaries.
Lofgren uses the census as an opportunity to bridge the gap between Silicon Valley’s technological might and the region’s thriving agricultural sector. This will pave the way for Big Tech’s expansion toward rural areas, opening up lucrative real estate opportunities for Lofgren’s donors and her attorney-husband’s clients.
The newly redrawn district now includes the Salinas Valley, known for its substantial Latino population. The sudden inclusion of a predominantly Latino community raises questions about displacement and gentrification.
Her friends covet the land. And land came before Big Tech.
And land goes to the highest bidder.
The outcome of the 2024 election will depend on whether gullible Latino voters are lulled into believing Lofgren – with almost three decades of serving Big Tech – will be no threat to their established interests and land.
For Lofgren, the best result is for Latinos to doze comfortably under their sombreros in comfort and complacency, and choose not to vote in the primary. Take a siesta, amigos.
All’s well, that ends well.
Latinos in the district may not have to worry. If the Latinos can vote for Lofgren one time, she can put enough policies in place to pave the way for the displacement of the old Latino population and gentrify the area for something fresh and new, and more reliable to her and her friend’s needs.
The needs of Big Tech are voracious. Big Tech’s future bedroom communities lead straight through Salinas Valley.
And while Latinos may disapprove of the job Congress is doing, Zoe Lofgren hopes they will vote for the incumbent.
We often give our enemies the means for our destruction. Latinos make way for Big Tech and vote for Zoe Lofgren.
The eagle was struck by an arrow fletched with feathers from its own kind.
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