In Redrawn Napa Valley House Seat, Voters Stick With Incumbent They Know

“It’s just heartwarming that the people in your community recognize the work that I’ve been doing and have come out to support my reelection,” Thompson told KQED on Tuesday night. “My main opposition is somebody who is from San Francisco, a wealthy venture capitalist, and that was just not appealing to the voters,” he said, referring to Jones.

Jones ran his challenge as part of a wave of younger, progressive candidates taking on Democrats in safe blue districts across the state as the party grappled with how to win back the working-class voters it lost in 2024.

At least in the 4th District, which was redrawn under Proposition 50 to bring in more conservative, rural regions, Thompson’s win suggests that established voices still hold sway over the energy behind Democrats’ calls for generational change.

Thompson, 75, a moderate Democrat and Vietnam War veteran, is seeking his 15th term in Congress. He has built his campaign around his record, framing himself as a battle-tested politician who will fight to protect democracy.

“I think every generation has something to offer, and there are younger people coming into Congress, but you can’t have an entire Congress of brand new people,” Thompson said. “My experience is important.”

A lifelong gun owner and hunter, one of Thompson’s signature issues is gun reform.

Following the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in 2012, then-House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi appointed him chair of the House Gun Violence Prevention Task Force.

He has also made the wine industry a priority as a vineyard owner himself and co-chair of the Congressional Wine Caucus, earning the title “Congress’s Man of the Vines.”

He secured tax breaks for the industry and introduced bills to compensate wine producers and crop growers for losses they faced from President Donald Trump’s tariffs.

Jones, 35, is a former venture capitalist who has never held public office. He describes himself as a progressive Democrat and has the endorsement of Our Revolution, a progressive organization founded by Sen. Bernie Sanders. Alongside Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr, Jones also co-founded the American Dream Institute to engage young working voters.

As a candidate, he seeks to connect with those voters by pointing to his low-income upbringing in Maine as the son of a disabled veteran. At times, his family relied on Medicaid, food stamps and disability checks.

He champions establishing universal childcare and expanding Medicare to cover in-home nursing, dental, vision and hearing care.

Elsewhere in the state, progressive challenges include districts in Sacramento, where City Councilmember Mai Vang took on 10-term Rep. Doris Matsui, and in Los Angeles, where former Obama and Biden White House climate aide Jake Levine sought to unseat 16-term Rep. Brad Sherman.

Early results show both incumbents holding on in these districts as well. Sherman will advance to a runoff against Republican Larry Thompson, with Levine missing the cut, according to the Associated Press, which called the race. Matsui leads Vang with counting still underway.

There are also six Republican candidates in the District 4 race, but they have received very little media coverage.

Riehle, a small-business owner who runs a marketing and direct mail service in Citrus Heights, leads all Republicans in fundraising but still lags behind Thompson and Jones by millions of dollars.

Riehle makes a point of not being a career politician, vowing to roll back taxes, crack down on crime and oppose sanctuary policies. As a business owner, he sees himself aligned with working-class voters.

After last year’s redistricting, nearly half of District 4 is new territory. The redrawn district brings in more conservative regions from the Sacramento Valley, including all of Colusa, Yuba and Sutter counties and parts of Placer and Sacramento counties, while dropping much of its Sonoma and Lake County territory.

“I will work my tail off for them and represent them as they’ve never been represented before,” Thompson said.

Still, the Cook Political Report rates the district as solidly blue, giving Republicans little chance of flipping this seat.

Jones has mounted the most serious challenge against Thompson in years, raising $3 million and pouring in an additional $5.2 million of his own money before the primary. Thompson raised $3.4 million.

Jones has pledged not to accept any corporate PAC money, calling for closing corporate tax loopholes and banning stock trading for members of Congress.

Yet his donor base tells its own story. Much of his funding comes from venture capital, tech and financing, including the co-founder of Duolingo. A super PAC funded mostly by the founder of Jones’ former venture capital firm has spent more than $2.3 million on ads to help his candidacy.

Thompson, meanwhile, has been a steady presence in the district, scandal-free with deep ties to wine country. The results so far suggest that, at least here, voters’ appetite for change is limited.