A new poll out shows the recent emergence of a third candidate and second Indian American in the race for the 17th Congressional District is already having an impact.
The poll shows incumbent Rep Mike Honda has at least a 19 percentage point lead over challengers Vanilla Singh and Ro Khanna, reports the Contra Costa Times.
The double digit lead isn’t surprising since its still early and Honda has a huge name recognition advantage.
What is surprising is that Singh is in a statistical tie for second place in the poll.
Singh just announced her candidacy last month while Khanna, who has amassed a huge campaign chest of funds, announced last April.
The 17th District race is particularly interesting because it is the first Asian American majority district in the country.
Singh seems to benefit from being identified as the only Republican of the three.
When party affiliation is not mentioned, Singh drops to a distant third place well behind second place Khanna.
Honda also seems to benefit when party affiliation is not mentioned. His lead increases to 35 percent over Khanna and 51 percent over Singh.
Under California’s open primary system, voters are allowed to vote for any candidate regardless of party affiliation.
It also features three Asian American candidates with two Indian Americans challenging a popular incumbent and Japanese American.
More details of the poll results are available in the Contra Costa Times.
