By admin 
Eric Jones, a former venture capitalist making his first bid for political office, has ousted longtime Democratic incumbent Rep. Mike Thompson, D-St. Helena.
Read more Proposition 42 passes, creating new obstacle to future California wealth taxes
The Associated Press deemed Jones the winner of the 4th Congressional District on Friday afternoon. He has 52.5% of the vote, compared to Thompson’s 47.5%. About 95% of the vote has been counted so far, according to The AP. The 4th District was one of the two House races in the state yet to be called.
“The people of CA-04 have made their voices heard,” Jones said in a written statement after the AP called the race. “This victory does not belong to me. It belongs to every family that opened their door, every volunteer who made one more call, and every voter across all nine counties who decided that government has to work for them. I will spend every day in Congress making sure it does.”
The victory makes Jones the latest young Democrat to unseat a veteran elected leader of the same party. Similar intra-party, generational battles have played out across the country and in Sacramento with mixed results.
Jones’ win, though, comes just months after he narrowly escaped the primary and finished nearly 20% behind Thompson. Thompson, who was first elected to Congress in 1998, has largely won reelection with ease.
Following the primary, Jones made multiple efforts to court Republican voters. He was endorsed by his former Republican opponents, joined events with Rep. James Gallager, R-Yuba City, and hired a longtime Sacramento-based Republican strategist.
Jones also poured millions of his own money into the campaign. As of the latest federal filings, he is up to nearly $15 million — the most self-funding for a congressional candidate in California history.
Read more Player wins $1.25 million on 1-cent slot machine at Sacramento-area casino
Thompson, 75, criticized the spending as an attempt by Jones to buy the seat. Jones, 35, fired back by pointing at Thompson’s history of accepting corporate donations.
The money gave Jones a major advertising advantage in the sprawling and newly drawn 4th District, which swept in more conservative parts in Colusa, Placer, Sutter and Yuba counties following redistricting from Proposition 50. As of Friday afternoon, Jones held strong advantages in those counties while Thompson was leading in the more Democratic counties of Napa and Sonoma.
The two candidates didn’t differ greatly on policy, so the race largely centered on a case for change versus the need for experience.
Thompson had pointed to his experience passing legislation in Congress and ability to deliver federal funding to the region. He is a senior member of the House Committee on Ways and Means, a powerful tax-writing body that shapes fiscal legislation.
“It’s been the honor of my life to serve the community where I was born, grew up and still live today,” Thompson said in response to results. “I look forward to continuing to serve our community through the end of my term and beyond.”
Jones stressed a need for generational change and focused on reaching younger voters frustrated with both political parties. Among his proposed policies was expanding Medicare to cover vision care, dental care, all forms of in-home nursing care and prescription generic drugs.
Read more The latest Super El Niño data is out. What to expect this winter in California