former president jimmy carter speaks at a conference in atlanta. | ap photo/david goldman by carla marinucci 10/11/16 06:02 am edt san jose <u+2014> silicon valley's democrat-on-democrat house race continues to fracture the party establishment, with former president jimmy carter announcing his support for challenger ro khanna on monday and u.s. senator barbara boxer almost simultaneously trumpeting her endorsement of eight-term incumbent rep. mike honda. the split in endorsements by major democrats underscores what has been a bitter rematch between khanna, 40, a former obama administration trade representative, and honda, 75, now under cloud of a house ethics committee investigation. story continued below campaign representatives on both sides will be in federal court tuesday to present arguments after honda<u+2019>s campaign in late september filed suit and accused khanna's team of illegally accessing the congressman's electronic donor data. khanna<u+2019>s team immediately countered with legal arguments for dismissal, insisting the honda lawsuit is baseless. the latest developments come as khanna's team announced that in the third quarter of 2016, he has completed <u+201c>the most successful fund raising quarter of the year,<u+201d> raising $438,000 and amassing $1.56 million cash on hand. his campaign said that amount represented <u+201c>a 650 percent increase from the same third quarter in 2014" <u+2014> and it noted that khanna raised more than $157,000 in the eight days after honda<u+2019>s filed suit. khanna<u+2019>s campaign strategist hari savugen, who has called honda<u+2019>s action a <u+201c>junk lawsuit,<u+2019><u+2019> said the fund-raising boom shows <u+201c>voters see through mike honda<u+2019>s desperate tactics and aren<u+2019>t taking kindly to them.<u+2019><u+2019> honda<u+2019>s team did not respond to politico california's requests for third quarter fund-raising data on monday night. but the congressman already is on the airwaves with ads, and his campaign manager michael beckendorf said in a recent release that khanna and his campaign <u+201c>are facing a lawsuit for accessing and stealing confidential documents owned by congressman honda,'' which he has likened to watergate. the ads, he said, are an effort to <u+201c>make sure voters know that congressman honda is the only candidate in this race working for them. <u+201d> the move by carter <u+2014> who has only backed one other candidate, hillary clinton, in the 2016 cycle <u+2014> is the only presidential endorsement in the heated house race centered in the nation<u+2019>s innovation economy capital. honda earned the endorsement of both president barack obama and vice president joe biden in his 2014 race. but they have not endorsed him this year, with the incumbent facing an ethics probe looking into allegations that he and campaign staff have improperly mixed campaign and official business. carter, in making the announcement monday, said that he has known khanna since he was a teenage intern at the carter center at the university of chicago, and said he represents <u+201c>the next generation of leaders" for the democratic party. boxer, in her endorsement, called honda a longtime friend who shares with her <u+201c>a deep commitment to ending the cycle of human trafficking, combating domestic violence, and protecting the civil rights of all americans." she added that honda "is someone who has always championed progressive causes and is one of our state<u+2019>s strongest voices when it comes to building a robust middle class and expanding opportunities for all.'' carla marinucci and david siders' must-read briefing on politics and government in the golden state
jimmy carter, barbara boxer offer dueling endorsements in silicon valley race
carla marinucci