Sam Liccardo
Sam Liccardo, a Democrat who served as mayor of San Jose from 2015 to 2023 and has represented California's 16th congressional district since 2025, faces Republican investor Peter Soulé in 2026.
2026 Races & Market Forecast
Live TruthIndex™ and prediction market consensus for races contested by Sam Liccardo.
- Born
- April 16, 1970
- Birthplace
- Saratoga, California
- Education
- Bellarmine College Preparatory (1987)
Georgetown University (bachelor's degree in government)
Harvard Law School (Juris Doctor)
Harvard Kennedy School (Master of Public Policy)
Biography & Campaign Analysis
Background
Sam Liccardo was born on April 16, 1970, one of five children of Salvador and Laura (née Aceves) Liccardo. He is of Sicilian and Irish descent and also of Mexican Californio ancestry. Liccardo grew up in Saratoga, California, and graduated from Bellarmine College Preparatory in 1987.
He received a bachelor's degree in government from Georgetown University, graduating magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa, and later earned a Juris Doctor at Harvard Law School and a Master of Public Policy at Harvard Kennedy School.
Before his election to public office in 2006, he worked as a criminal prosecutor in the Santa Clara County District Attorney's office.
Career
In 2006, Liccardo ran for San Jose's District 3 council seat, placing first in an eight-candidate June primary and winning the November runoff with 61.3% of the vote. He was re-elected in June 2010 with 80.16% of the primary vote. As a councilman he championed a 2008 inclusionary zoning ordinance requiring developers to make 15% of their units affordable or pay fees to finance affordable housing elsewhere.
Liccardo ran for mayor of San Jose in 2014 to succeed the termed-out Chuck Reed. He placed second to County Supervisor Dave Cortese in the June primary with 25.7% and then won the November runoff with 50.8%, and he was re-elected in 2018 with 75.8%.
As the city's 65th mayor from 2015 to 2023, he helped negotiate an agreement with all 11 city employee unions that closed the retiree healthcare plan to new employees, which voters approved as Measure F in 2016. He also led the California Big City Mayors Coalition.
2026 race
Sam Liccardo is seeking reelection in California's 16th congressional district, which he won in 2024 with 58.2% of the vote.
In the top-two primary he finished first with 75.61%, and Republican investor Peter Sundin Soulé placed second with 10.76%, ahead of Republican law student Kevin Johnson at 10.20% and attorney Jotham Stein, who had no party preference.
Democrat Peter Dixon, a cybersecurity executive who ran for the district in 2024, withdrew. Liccardo faces Soulé in the general election on November 3, 2026.