Times-Herald - Rep. Mike Thompson Faces Political Unknown

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By Tony Burchyns

It's David vs. Goliath in the Fifth Congressional District race, where independent James Hinton hopes to unseat incumbent Democrat Mike Thompson next week.

Thompson, 63, of St. Helena, is seeking his eighth term in the U.S. House representing the Wine Country district that consists of Napa and parts of Lake, Sonoma, Contra Costa and Solano counties -- including Vallejo and Benicia. He and Hinton advanced past the June primary and will face off in Tuesday's general election.

"I've worked really hard to represent our district the best I can," Thompson said this week, adding he believes he's earned voters' support with his record on job creation, the budget, veterans' benefits and strengthening Social Security and Medicare. "You'd be hard-pressed to find anyone working harder for our district."

Hinton, 40, of Napa, has never held public office. But he's doing something no Republican dared to do this year: Challenging Thompson in the heavily Democratic district.

"I'm running for Congress because our country is threatened by an economic crisis that was caused by Wall Street," said Hinton, who's running a low-budget campaign. He added "neither party in Washington has solutions" to fix issues such as economy and health care.

Hinton, a former professional online poker player who's also worked in the wine industry, says he favors taxing Wall Street, decriminalizing marijuana and replacing the Affordable Care Act single-payer healthcare system.

"If you are looking for a protest vote, be assured that support for my program will send the loudest possible message to Washington that people in this part of the country demand an immediate change of course," Hinton said.

Thompson, who is expected to have an easy path to victory, has dismissed Hinton as out of touch with average voters.

"I've never met my opponent," said Thompson, who entered the race with a $1.5 million campaign war chest. "I don't know who he is except for what I've read and he seems pretty radical. He's not out working in our community and he's not part of any organizations I'm aware of."

Thompson, who has never lost an election, got 80 percent of the vote in the June primary. Hinton got 11.1 percent, edging out independent Douglas Van Raam, who got 8.4 percent.

This is Thompson's first race -- including his three California Senate elections in 1990, 1993 and 1994 -- in which he has not faced a Republican opponent. In 2012, Thompson easily won reelection against Republican Randy Loftin.

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