The congressman from the 1st District is Mike Thompson, a Democrat first elected in 1998. Thompson grew up in the Napa Valley town of St. Helena, dropped out of high school, served in the Army in Vietnam, and earned a Purple Heart. Later, he got a bachelor’s and master’s degree from what is now California State University at Chico. He owned a vineyard and worked as a maintenance supervisor for Beringer, a big winery in the valley. From 1984 to 1990, he was the chief of staff to two Bay Area state Assembly members. In 1990, he was elected to the state Senate, where he chaired the Budget Committee. In 1998, he ran for the U.S. House seat of Republican Frank Riggs, who planned to challenge Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer that year. Thompson faced only weak opposition and had support from almost every interest group that matters in the district: unions, medical providers, vintners, oil and timber interests, environmental advocates, law enforcement groups, and fishermen. His issue stands—opposition to oil drilling off the California coast, support of abortion rights and the death penalty—were broadly popular. He won the primary 78%-22% and the general election 62%-33%. He has not been seriously challenged since then. Read More

The congressman from the 1st District is Mike Thompson, a Democrat first elected in 1998. Thompson grew up in the Napa Valley town of St. Helena, dropped out of high school, served in the Army in Vietnam, and earned a Purple Heart. Later, he got a bachelor’s and master’s degree from what is now California State University at Chico. He owned a vineyard and worked as a maintenance supervisor for Beringer, a big winery in the valley. From 1984 to 1990, he was the chief of staff to two Bay Area state Assembly members. In 1990, he was elected to the state Senate, where he chaired the Budget Committee. In 1998, he ran for the U.S. House seat of Republican Frank Riggs, who planned to challenge Democratic Sen. Barbara Boxer that year. Thompson faced only weak opposition and had support from almost every interest group that matters in the district: unions, medical providers, vintners, oil and timber interests, environmental advocates, law enforcement groups, and fishermen. His issue stands—opposition to oil drilling off the California coast, support of abortion rights and the death penalty—were broadly popular. He won the primary 78%-22% and the general election 62%-33%. He has not been seriously challenged since then.

In the House, Thompson is a moderate Democrat whose voting record is among the least liberal of coastal Californians. He joined both the New Democrats and the Blue Dog Coalition of conservative Democrats. He is among the members of his party who agree with Republicans on the need to abolish the estate tax, which he said unfairly burdens family farms. With Republican Rep. George Radanovich of California, he started the Congressional Wine Caucus, and wineries such as Gallo and Sutter Home have been among his largest campaign contributors. For the past several years, Thompson and the caucus have battled lawmakers allied with beer and alcohol wholesalers over a bill giving states new power to restrict sales over the Internet. He said the bill “allows states to discriminate against (wine) producers in ways that promote economic protectionism.” In 2009, Thompson added provisions to a solar technology bill aimed at preventing thefts of solar panels at wineries, a growing problem in the Napa Valley. He also joined California GOP Rep. Jerry Lewis on a proposal to create a $1 billion fund for making buildings more resistant to earthquakes.

Thompson has been a close ally of former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., which gives him influence among House Democrats. She tapped him in 2009 to coordinate redistricting efforts for Democrats following the 2010 census. But his ambition to head the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee after the 2002 election was dashed by an ill-timed visit to Iraq. Thompson traveled to Baghdad in 2002, before the United States went to war with Iraq, with a group that included Reps. David Bonior, D-Mich., and Jim McDermott, D-Wash., who criticized President Bush’s Iraq policy—statements that were deemed impolitic with tensions running high between the two countries. Although Thompson did not make the controversial comments and later conceded it was a bad idea to criticize the president from Iraq, the trip dashed his chances of assuming a high-profile party role.

As consolation, Thompson was asked to lead the DCCC’s incumbent protection program, and got a seat on the House Ways and Means Committee. On the powerful panel, he was able to enact a tax break for landowners who place their land under conservation easements, a way to preserve farmland. In 2007, Thompson sponsored the Airline Passenger Bill of Rights, which requires airlines to provide basic necessities, like food, water, and well-ventilated facilities, when flights are delayed for long periods. Although it stalled in Congress, the Obama administration issued a rule modeled after the legislation in 2010. After Republicans talked up increased domestic oil drilling, Thompson in early 2009 proposed to ban all drilling along the North Coast, saying it made little sense economically or environmentally.

On the Intelligence Committee, Thompson sponsored a successful addition to the 2008 defense bill that cracked down on abuses by private contractors in Iraq and expanded the authority of a special inspector general. Later, he joined several other Democrats in 2010 to amend the House’s fiscal 2011 defense bill to permit the Government Accountability Office to investigate the operations of spy agencies.

Following the 2008 election, Thompson was mentioned as a contender for Interior secretary in the Obama administration, a position that ultimately went to then-Sen. Ken Salazar, D-Colo.