After the 1992 general election, State Senator Barry Keene of the neighboring 2nd District resigned. Thompson, whose hometown of St. Helena had shifted from the 4th District into the 2nd after reapportionment, ran in the 1993 special election for Keene's seat. He narrowly beat Republican businesswoman Margie Handley and was elected to a full term in 1994.[9]
National Democrats approached Thompson about running for Congress in 1996 against freshman Republican Frank Riggs.[citation needed] Thompson's state Senate district was virtually coextensive with the congressional district. Thompson declined, believing his Senate seniority would be more beneficial to his district than would his being a freshman U.S. congressman.[citation needed] But in 1998, Thompson was due to be termed out of the state Senate, and opted to run for Congress. Riggs did not seek reelection to his House seat and made an unsuccessful bid for the United States Senate.[10] Thompson was elected by almost a 30% margin[11] and has been reelected ever since without substantive opposition,[11] turning what was a swing district for most of the 1980s and '90s into a fairly safe Democratic seat.[citation needed]
For his first seven terms, Thompson represented a district stretching from the far northern part of the San Francisco Bay Area all the way to the North Coast. But after the 2010 census, his district was renumbered as the 5th and made somewhat more compact, losing most of its northern part to the 2nd District.[citation needed]
Thompson is a Roman Catholic,[2] but is pro-choice. In May 2004, he and 47 other Catholic Democratic members of Congress sent a letter to CardinalTheodore McCarrick of Washington, D.C., to dissuade him from refusing to administer Holy Communion to Catholic members who voted in favor of pro-choice legislation.[15] In February 2006, Thompson was one of 55 Democratic U.S. representatives identifying as Catholic who signed a "Statement of Principles" that affirmed a commitment to their faith but acknowledged opposition to Catholic doctrine on some issues. They wrote that on those issues, such as abortion rights, they would follow their conscience instead of the church's teachings.[16] In response, the U.S. Catholic Bishops issued a "Statement on Responsibilities of Catholics in Public Life" that said, in part, "Catholic teaching calls all Catholics to work actively to restrain, restrict and bring to an end the destruction of unborn human life."[17]
In 2015, Thompson proposed tougher penalties for marijuana growers who operate on trespassed land.[19] The United States Sentencing Commission adopted the tougher sentencing guidelines, which went into effect in November 2015, after a six-month congressional review. The guidelines were intended to increase public safety.[20]
Environmental issues
Thompson voted for President George W. Bush's Healthy Forests Initiative,[21] which some environmentalists saw as a favor to the timber industry.[22] He has disappointed some environmentalists with votes against limits to new commercial logging roads in Alaska's Tongass National Forest[23] and against limits to hunting bears over bait.[24][25] He was also one of only 30 Democrats to vote against an amendment to maintain roadless areas protected under the Roadless Rule.[26] Thompson received a B rating from the American Wilderness Coalition in 2003 and an A+ in 2004.[27]
The Sierra Club endorsed Thompson for reelection in 2010.[28]
In March 2012, Thompson and state Assemblyman Jared Huffman voiced their opposition to a piece of water legislation that the House would be voting on, which Thompson argued would "kill local jobs, ignore 20 years of established science and overturn a century of California water law."[31]
On March 26, 2008, Muthanna Al-Hanooti, an official of a Michigancharity, was accused of underwriting three members of Congress to travel to Iraq on behalf of Iraqi intelligence officials. McDermott's office was already organizing the trip when the charity offered to pay the trip expenses. McDermott's spokesman claimed the charity was fully vetted by the U.S. government. He also stated that the representatives obtained a license from the State Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control for the group to travel to Iraq.[33]
Thompson has supported military intervention in certain foreign countries.[34]
Health care
Thompson has supported a public option for health insurance. In 2009, he wrote, "[b]y streamlining health care, reducing fraud and abuse, ending unnecessary testing, discouraging over-utilization, investing in smart reforms, and emphasizing preventive health care, we can significantly bring down the cost of health care."[35] In 2010, Thompson voted for the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.[36]
The Thompsons are avid home cooks and cook for fundraisers to benefit local nonprofits, such as for renovations to the Point Reyes Lighthouse, and Thompson's campaigns. Local Napa Valley wineries often sponsor Thompson's campaigns with lunches, dinners, wine tastings and tours. Thompson is also a longtime volunteer for the Napa Valley wine auction fundraiser.[60]
^"Anti-Bear Hunting Bill Withdrawn from Resources Committee". Weekly News: Fishery News of the Great Lakes Basin. Great Lakes Sport Fishing Council. July 21, 2003. Retrieved December 17, 2008. Congress specifically and repeatedly has affirmed the states' rights to manage non-migratory wildlife, including on most federal lands except for National Parks. H.R. 1472 would have preempted these rights and removed science and professional wildlife management as a cornerstone of America's successful wildlife management program.
