California's 5th Congressional District elections, 2014
The 5th Congressional District of California held an election for the U.S. House of Representatives on November 4, 2014.
Incumbent Mike Thompson (D) won re-election in 2014. He defeated James Hinton (I) in the general election.[3]
| Candidate Filing Deadline | Primary Election | General Election |
|---|---|---|
Primary: California uses a top-two primary system, in which all candidates appear on the same ballot. The top two vote-getters, regardless of party affiliation, move on to the general election. In states that do not use a top-two system, all parties are usually able to put forward a candidate for the general election if they choose to.[4][5]
Unlike the top-two format used in some states (Louisiana and Georgia special elections for example), a general election between the top-two candidates in California occurs regardless of whether the top candidate received 50% of the vote in the first round of elections.
As of June 2025, California was one of five states to use a top-two primary system, or a variation of the top-two system. See here for more information.
For information about which offices are nominated via primary election, see this article.
Voter registration: To vote in the primary, voters had to register by May 19, 2014. For the general election, the voter registration deadline was October 20, 2014 (the 15th calendar day before that election).[6]
- See also: California elections, 2014
Incumbent: Heading into the election the incumbent was Mike Thompson (D), who was first elected in 1998.
California's 5th Congressional District is located in the western portion of the state and is centered in Napa County. It also contains portions of Contra Costa, Lake, Solano, and Sonoma counties.[7]
Candidates
General election candidates
June 3, 2014, primary results
Mike Thompson - Incumbent 
James Hinton - Doug Van Raam
Withdrew
Election results
General election
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic |  Mike Thompson Incumbent |
75.7% | 129,613 | |
| Independent | James Hinton | 24.3% | 41,535 | |
| Total Votes | 171,148 | |||
| Source: California Secretary of State | ||||
Primary election
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic |
Mike Thompson Incumbent |
80.4% | 88,709 | |
| Independent | James Hinton |
11.1% | 12,292 | |
| Independent | Douglas Van Raam | 8.4% | 9,279 | |
| Total Votes | 110,280 | |||
| Source: California Secretary of State |
||||
Key votes
Below are important votes the incumbent cast during the 113th Congress.
Government shutdown
- See also: United States budget debate, 2013
On September 30, 2013, the House passed a final stopgap spending bill before the shutdown went into effect. The bill included a one-year delay of the Affordable Care Act's individual mandate and would have also stripped the bill of federal subsidies for congressional members and staff. It passed through the House with a vote of 228-201.[8] At 1 a.m. on October 1, 2013, one hour after the shutdown officially began, the House voted to move forward with going to a conference. In short order, Sen. Harry Reid rejected the call to conference.[9] Mike Thompson voted against the stopgap spending bill that would have delayed the individual mandate.[10]
The shutdown ended on October 16, 2013, when the House took a vote on HR 2775 after it was approved by the Senate. The bill to reopen the government lifted the $16.7 trillion debt limit and funded the government through January 15, 2014. Federal employees also received retroactive pay for the shutdown period. The only concession made by Senate Democrats was to require income verification for Obamacare subsidies.[11] The House passed the legislation shortly after the Senate, by a vote of 285-144, with all 144 votes against the legislation coming from Republican members. Mike Thompson voted for HR 2775.[12]
Campaign contributions
Mike Thompson
| Mike Thompson (2014) Campaign Finance Reports | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Report | Date Filed | Beginning Balance | Total Contributions for Reporting Period | Expenditures | Cash on Hand | ||||
| April Quarterly[13] | April 15, 2013 | $1,317,030.35 | $210,116.03 | $(169,641.94) | $1,357,504.44 | ||||
| July Quarterly[14] | July 15, 2013 | $1,357,504.44 | $261,347.66 | $(148,681.86) | $1,470,170.24 | ||||
| October Quarterly[15] | October 15, 2013 | $1,470,170.24 | $167,860.66 | $(171,101.00) | $1,466,929.90 | ||||
| Year-End[16] | January 31, 2014 | $1,466,929 | $209,164 | $(183,694) | $1,492,399 | ||||
| April Quarterly[17] | April 15, 2014 | $1,492,399 | $203,445 | $(148,349) | $1,547,496 | ||||
| Pre-Primary[18] | May 22, 2014 | $1,547,496 | $83,124 | $(58,887) | $1,571,732 | ||||
| July Quarterly[19] | July 15, 2014 | $1,571,732 | $288,590 | $(203,547) | $1,656,776 | ||||
| October Quarterly[20] | October 15, 2014 | $1,656,776 | $260,767 | $(325,542) | $1,592,001 | ||||
| Running totals | |||||||||
| $1,684,414.35 | $(1,409,443.8) | ||||||||
Doug Van Raam
| Doug Van Raam (2014) Campaign Finance Reports | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Report | Date Filed | Beginning Balance | Total Contributions for Reporting Period | Expenditures | Cash on Hand | ||||
| April Quarterly[21] | April 11, 2014 | $0 | $1,826 | $(1,745) | $81 | ||||
| Running totals | |||||||||
| $1,826 | $(1,745) | ||||||||
District history
| Candidate ballot access |
|---|
 |
| Find detailed information on ballot access requirements in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. |
2012
On November 6, 2012, Mike Thompson (D) won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Randy Loftin in the general election.
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Mike Thompson Incumbent |
74.5% | 202,872 | |
| Republican | Randy Loftin | 25.5% | 69,545 | |
| Total Votes | 272,417 | |||
| Source: California Secretary of State "Official Election Results, 2012 General Election" | ||||
2010
On November 2, 2010, Doris Matsui won re-election to the United States House. She defeated Paul Smith (R), Gerald Allen Frink (Peace and Freedom) and Tony Lacy (Write-in) in the general election.[22]
| U.S. House, California District 5 General Election, 2010 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Doris Matsui incumbent |
72% | 124,220 | |
| Republican | Paul Smith | 25.3% | 43,577 | |
| Peace and Freedom | Gerald Allen Frink | 2.7% | 4,594 | |
| Write-in | Tony Lacy | 0% | 19 | |
| Total Votes | 172,410 | |||
See also
- United States House of Representatives elections in California, 2014
- United States House of Representatives elections, 2014
External links
- California Elections & Voter Information
- California Secretary of State, Official primary candidate list
Footnotes
- ↑ Cook Political Report, "2014 HOUSE RACE RATINGS FOR June 26, 2014," accessed July 28, 2014
- ↑ Sabato's Crystal Ball, "2014 House Races," accessed July 28, 2014
- ↑ The Huffington Post, "Election 2014," November 4, 2014
- ↑ National Conference of State Legislatures, "State Primary Election Types," accessed August 13, 2024
- ↑ California Secretary of State, "Primary Elections in California," accessed August 13, 2024
- ↑ California Secretary of State Website, "Voter Registration," accessed January 3, 2014
- ↑ United States Census Bureau, "Counties by Congressional Districts," accessed June 8, 2016
- ↑ Clerk of the U.S. House, "Final vote results for Roll Call 504," accessed October 31, 2013
- ↑ Buzzfeed, "Government Shutdown: How We Got Here," accessed October 1, 2013
- ↑ Clerk of the U.S. House, "Final vote results for Roll Call 504," accessed October 31, 2013
- ↑ The Washington Post, "Reid, McConnell propose bipartisan Senate bill to end shutdown, extend borrowing," accessed October 16, 2013
- ↑ U.S. House, "Final vote results for Roll Call 550," accessed October 31, 2013
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Mike Thompson April Quarterly," accessed July 23, 2013
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Mike Thompson July Quarterly," accessed July 23, 2013
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Mike Thompson October Quarterly," accessed October 21, 2013
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Mike Thompson Year-End," accessed February 4, 2014
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Mike Thompson April Quarterly," accessed April 21, 2014
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Mike Thompson Pre-Primary," accessed June 2, 2014
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Mike Thompson July Quarterly," accessed July 23, 2014
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Mike Thompson October Quarterly," accessed October 20, 2014
- ↑ Federal Election Commission, "Doug Van Raam April Quarterly," accessed May 5, 2014
- ↑ U.S. Congress House Clerk, "Statistics of the Congressional Election of November 2, 2010," accessed March 28, 2013
