With the primary election for the coveted Silicon Valley congressional seat less than two months away, Santa Clara County Supervisor Joe Simitian has received a key endorsement in his bid for Congress: U.S. Rep. Anna Eshoo, who will be retiring at the end of this year.

Eshoo, D-Menlo Park, who has represented Silicon Valley for 31 years and who announced last November that she is stepping down at the end of her current term, said Wednesday that she is endorsing Simitian.

"This special place calls for a top-notch representative, and I believe that there is one person who has the ability to represent the people of this special place, and that is Joe Simitian," Eshoo said in a video statement.

She called Simitian a "seasoned and effective legislator" and pointed to the more than 150 locally elected officials who have endorsed his candidacy.

"Integrity, experience, determination — that's Joe Simitian, and I am so proud to endorse him for Congress," she said.

Eshoo's endorsement isn't particularly surprising. The two lawmakers are friends who have each represented communities in Santa Clara and San Mateo counties for more than three decades. Before his current stint as a supervisor, Simitian served in the state Assembly and the state Senate, where his districts overlapped with Eshoo's.

The endorsement represents a boost for Simitian, who is one of the frontrunners in a crowded field that also includes former San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo, state Assemblyman Evan Low, Palo Alto City Council members Julie Lythcott-Haims and Greg Tanaka, former Saratoga City Council member Rishi Kumar, Marine veteran Peter Dixon, former Menlo Park Mayor Peter Ohtaki, researcher Joby Bernstein, attorney Ahmed Mostafa and Karl Ryan.

"Congresswoman Anna Eshoo knows the people of our region," Simitian said in a statement. "She knows my work. And she knows what it takes to get the job done in Congress. That's what makes her endorsement solid gold! I'm enormously grateful."

Other contenders in the crowded race have also been picking up endorsements from federal elected officials over the past month. Dixon, who has made closer scrutiny of Pentagon spending a key component of his campaign, earned the endorsement of six Congressional Democrats: Jason Crow, Mikie Sherrill, Pat Ryan, Jared Golden, Don Davis and Chris Deluzio.

Low's supporters include U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna and Sen. Laphonza Butler. Lythcott-Haims, meanwhile, has received an endorsement from U.S. Sen. Cory Booker, D-New Jersey.

The primary election will be held on March 5. The top two vote-getters will then move on to the general election on Nov. 5. n