Mike Thompson Elected Again

(November 5, 2008)

California's 1st Congressional District voters again gave Mike Thompon yet another landslide victory over his opponents. The results, as of the afternoon of November 5, according to the California Secretary of State:

Mike Thompson (Democratic Party) 154,006 votes, 68.2% of total

Zane Starkewolf (Republican Party) 53,561 votes, 23.7%

Carol Wolman (Green Party) 18,492 votes, 8.1%

As far as I could tell, the election was marked by remarkable voter apathy as all attention was focused on the Obama/McCain Presidential race. The opposing candidates spent almost no money on their campaigns, and Mike had over $2 million to spend, but I think the results would have been almost identical if he had spent none. We see the continued shrinkage of the Republican Party in this district. The Carol Wolman / Green Party tally is the best I can recall for a Green Party 1st district candidate. My impression is still that 90% of Democratic Party voters actually know little or nothing about Mike Thompson's voting record, but just assume that the guy with the Democratic Party nomination reflects their values.

Even if a Progressive Democratic Party emerged with a candidate and split the Democratic vote in two, the Republican could still not win with the kind of numbers Zane turned in. In fact most Republican businessmen seem to be happy with what Mike does for them in Congress.

Mike will be in a Congress with a strong Democratic Party majority working with a Democratic Party President. It will be interesting to see if liberal Democrats in the district can push Mike to support lowered military spending, single-payer national health insurance, and restoration of taxes on the rich.