Venture capitalist drops record-breaking cash in race against Bay Area Democrat

A blistering fight between U.S. Rep. Mike Thompson and venture capitalist Eric Jones just got even more expensive, as the veteran Democrat fights to hold onto his seat against a self-funded challenger spending record-breaking amounts of money.

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Jones loaned his campaign another $4.8 million according to a campaign finance document released Friday, bringing his total contributions to his campaign to $14.8 million. Jones has now broken the record for self-funding a House campaign in California, according to David McCuan, a professor at Sonoma State University.

Jones is a former venture capitalist and an ally of Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr; Kerr served on the advisory board of Jones’ nonprofit, the American Dream Institute, and donated to Jones’ congressional campaign.

Jones’ record-breaking cash injects even more money into the fight over California’s Fourth Congressional District, which stretches from eastern Sonoma County to southwest Placer County. Jones placed second in the June primary for the newly redrawn district, narrowly beating Republican Ray Riehle to create a Democrat-versus-Democrat race in November.

Thompson, who has served in Congress for 27 years, is part of a group of veteran Democrats who are facing younger challengers in this year’s midterm elections. U.S. Rep. Jimmy Gomez is defending his Los Angeles seat from democratic socialist challenger Angela Gonzales-Torres, who has been polling above the high-ranking Democrat. 

And in Sacramento, U.S. Rep. Doris Matsui is defending her seat from Sacramento City Councilmember Mai Vang, who beat Matsui in the primary. Matsui won her seat in 2005 after her late husband U.S. Rep. Robert Matsui died while in office, leaving the seat empty; together, Robert and Doris Matsui have held a California congressional seat for 47 years. Matsui later remarried billionaire Roger Sant and has loaned her own campaign $5.4 million as she fends off Vang. 

In the Napa race, Jones’ record-breaking run of self-funding has drawn criticism from his opponent. Thomas Dowling, the campaign manager for Thompson, said in a Friday news release that Jones was attempting to use his millions to buy the seat.

“California’s 4th Congressional District is not for sale. Voters will not be deceived by a San Francisco venture capitalist air dropping into our communities to buy a seat in Congress,” Dowling said.

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Jones made his money working as a partner at Dragoneer Investment Group in San Francisco, where he helped grow the fund from $180 million to $24 billion, according to the Press Democrat. Jones said he made $8 million from Dragoneer in the previous year and estimated his net worth as high as $86 million, .

Jones defended his self-funded campaign in a statement released Friday, saying Thompson was bought by special interests.

“Standing up to PG&E, the insurance lobby, and Big Tech requires significant resources,” Jones said. “The contributions my wife and I have made are substantial, and so are the millions of dollars we have raised from grassroots donors and people across this district. The alternative is an establishment Democrat who has spent nearly 30 years in Congress working on behalf of the same lobbyists and special interests that are spending to keep him there.”

Jones has called for the elimination of federal income tax on the first $150,000 of earnings and said he wants to pass a constitutional amendment imposing a 12-year term limit for members of Congress. Thompson has called for more targeted tax relief through housing and utility subsidies instead of a broad-based tax relief. Both candidates have expressed support for Medicare for All. 

Jones is facing an uphill battle to defeat Thompson, who had a 19 percentage point lead on Jones in the June primary. But Jones has already secured high-profile endorsements from Republicans in the district, including his former primary opponent Riehle.