Top image: Rep. Mike Thompson in his official House portrait from the 116th Congress. Photo: U.S. House Office of Photography (public domain) via Wikimedia Commons
Democrat Eric Jones has defeated Rep. Mike Thompson in California’s 4th Congressional District, Decision Desk HQ projected Thursday night, ending the 14-term House career of one of California’s longest-serving Democrats, The Hill and Political.org reported.
Jones, 35, a former venture capitalist making his first run for office, led Thompson, 75, by 111,069 votes to 101,859, or 52.2% to 47.8%, a margin of 9,210, in the latest count compiled by The Ballot Book as of 5:32 p.m. Pacific time Thursday. The Associated Press had not called the race as of late Thursday, The Press Democrat reported. Counties still have ballots to count, and results are due to be certified by Dec. 11.
Thompson is the only House Democrat to lose in the general election this cycle, according to Political.org. Because of California’s top-two primary, the November contest pitted two Democrats against each other, so the seat stays in Democratic hands.
How Jones won
The result reverses the June primary, in which Thompson finished first with 41.0% to Jones’s 22.2%, while six Republicans combined for 36.1%, Political.org reported. With no Republican on the November ballot, those voters’ choices decided the race.
The county results show the split. Thompson carried Napa County with 58.9%, Yolo with 54.9% and Sonoma with 53.5%, according to The Ballot Book. Jones won the district’s more rural and Republican-leaning counties by wide margins, including Sutter with 68.6%, Yuba with 67.2%, Placer with 63.2% and Sacramento County’s portion with 60.8%.
Redistricting for 2026 added more agricultural and more conservative areas to the district, Political.org reported. Jones ran on fighting corruption and lowering costs, described himself as a progressive Democrat and emphasized growing up poor and reaching Yale on a scholarship. He also made Thompson’s age and long tenure an issue. He proposed a tax in each of the district’s counties with the revenue going to farmers.
Jones far outspent the incumbent, much of it from his own pocket, as the Chronicle reported Thursday.
Thompson’s record
Thompson was first elected to the House in 1998 after serving in the California State Senate, where he chaired the Budget Committee. He sits on the House Ways and Means Committee, and his office describes him as the former chair of the House Gun Violence Prevention Task Force, according to Political.org. His campaign stressed gun violence prevention, fiscal responsibility and health care, and he was endorsed by Sens. Adam Schiff and Alex Padilla and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries.
Thompson had not publicly conceded as of Friday morning. On Thursday, his official account posted on X that he was “proud to cosponsor the American Food for American Schools Act of 2026,” legislation to source school meals from American farms.
A win for Khanna’s generational push
The result is also a win for Rep. Ro Khanna of Fremont, who endorsed Jones over his House colleague as part of a slate of younger challengers, arguing the party needed generational change. Khanna, widely seen as a likely contender for the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination, has made that argument central to his national profile. This week he also urged Senate Democrats to replace Chuck Schumer as their leader.
The race was unusually bitter. Capitol Police investigated the Jones campaign last December after a volunteer was seen near Thompson’s home, and in May Jones accused Thompson’s team of filming a private event without permission, according to local reporting cited by Political.org.
What’s next
Jones would take office when the new Congress convenes in January. The Bay Area delegation loses one of its most senior members and a seat on the tax-writing Ways and Means Committee.
.jpg){kind=link}
_01.jpg){kind=link}
Leave a Reply