John Tyler (California)
John Wesley Tyler (No party preference) ran for election to the U.S. House to represent California's 4th Congressional District. He will not appear on the ballot for the primary on June 2, 2026.
Tyler completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
John Tyler was born in Yuba City, California. He pursued his undergraduate education at Yuba College; California Polytechnic State University; West Hills Community College; Fresno City College; California State University, Fresno; and National University. Tyler attended California State University, Fresno, for his graduate studies. His career experience includes working as an educator and a civil servant.[1] He has been affiliated with the Konocti Education Association and Lake County Theater Company.[2]
2026 battleground election
Ballotpedia identified the June 2 top-two primary for California's 4th Congressional District as a battleground election. The summary below is from our coverage of this election, found here.
Two Democrats, six Republicans, and one independent candidate are running in the top-two primary for California's 4th Congressional District on June 2, 2026. As of March 2026, incumbent Mike Thompson (D) and Eric Jones (D) led in fundraising and local media attention.[3][4]
Local political observers describe the primary in terms of the ideological and generational contrast between Thompson and Jones. The San Francisco Chronicle's Joe Garofali described the primary as "another example of a younger, well-funded Bay Area Democrat taking on an entrenched candidate as the Democratic Party grapples with how to win back voters," referring to the party's losses at the national level in the 2024 elections.[4] The Sonoma Index-Tribune's Ruchi Shahagadkar said Thompson "has championed the region’s wine industry, fought for federal tax relief for wildfire survivors and served as the House Democrats’ point person on initiatives combating gun violence."[5] Politico's Jeremy B. White said Jones is "hoping to exploit a rapidly shifting media landscape that makes it easier for lesser-known candidates to break through, as Zohran Mamdani did in New York’s mayoral primary with viral campaign videos."[6]
Thompson was first elected to the House in 1998. He earlier served eight years in the California Senate. Thompson says he is running because "[w]ith the outcome of the last election and what’s happened since then with this (Donald Trump) administration and the Republican majority, it’s absolutely imperative that I continue the work I’ve started," referring to his position on the House Ways and Means Committee.[3] The Democratic Party of California endorsed Thompson.[7]
Jones is a former executive at an investment firm and the founder of the American Dream Institute, a group describing itself as "a first-of-its-kind digital engagement engine dedicated to helping the Democratic Party rebuild trust with young working Americans."[8] Jones says he is running "to restore the American Dream for every family — not just the wealthy few."[9] Our Revolution, an organization that advocates for the policies of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), endorsed Jones.[10]
Also running in the primary are Sharon Brown (R), Mandy Ghusar (R), Jimih Jones (R), L. John MacKenzie (R), Raymond Riehle (R), Chuck Uribe (R), and Thomas Roach (I).
In a top-two primary, all candidates running for a given office appear on the same ballot. The top two finishers—regardless of partisan affiliation—advance to the general election. One Democrat and one Republican have advanced from every top-two primary in the 4th District since 2016. Citing California State University, Sacramento, professor Wesley Hussey, The Sacramento Bee's Jake Goodrick said, "A Republican candidate often advances in a top-two primary, even in a heavily Democratic district...but without a stand-out Republican to back, a scenario in which the four Republicans split votes could favor both Thompson and Jones advancing."[11]
The primary is taking place in the context of redistricting in California that changed the 4th District's boundaries from those used in 2024. Inside Elections' Nathaniel Rakich said the 2026 version of the 4th District favors Democrats overall but does so by a narrower margin than the district lines in use in 2024.[12] As of March 2026, major election forecasters rated the general election Solid/Safe Democratic.
Elections
2026
See also: California's 4th Congressional District election, 2026
California's 4th Congressional District election, 2026 (June 2 top-two primary)
General election
The primary will occur on June 2, 2026. The general election will occur on November 3, 2026. General election candidates will be added here following the primary.
Nonpartisan primary election
Nonpartisan primary for U.S. House California District 4
The following candidates are running in the primary for U.S. House California District 4 on June 2, 2026.
Candidate | ||
 | Mike Thompson (D) | |
| Sharon Brown (R) | ||
| Mandy Ghusar (R) | ||
| Jimih Jones (R) | ||
 | Eric Jones (D) | |
| L. John MacKenzie (R) | ||
 | Raymond Riehle (R) | |
 | Thomas Roach (No party preference) | |
Chuck Uribe (R)  | ||
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Trevor Merrell (D)
- John Wesley Tyler (No party preference)
- Heath Fulkerson (R)
Polls
- See also: Ballotpedia's approach to covering polls
We provide results for polls that are included in polling aggregation from RealClearPolitics, when available. We will regularly check for polling aggregation for this race and add polls here once available. To notify us of polls available for this race, please email us.
Candidate spending
| Name | Party | Receipts* | Disbursements** | Cash on hand | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mike Thompson | Democratic Party | $2,037,569 | $1,313,154 | $1,933,903 | As of December 31, 2025 |
| Eric Jones | Democratic Party | $2,591,617 | $866,583 | $1,725,034 | As of December 31, 2025 |
| Sharon Brown | Republican Party | $7,000 | $2,780 | $4,220 | As of December 31, 2025 |
| Mandy Ghusar | Republican Party | $7,000 | $3,789 | $3,211 | As of December 31, 2025 |
| Jimih Jones | Republican Party | $0 | $0 | $0 | Data not available*** |
| L. John MacKenzie | Republican Party | $7,000 | $2,780 | $4,220 | As of December 31, 2025 |
| Raymond Riehle | Republican Party | $90,180 | $75,019 | $15,701 | As of December 31, 2025 |
| Chuck Uribe | Republican Party | $0 | $0 | $0 | Data not available*** |
| Thomas Roach | No party preference | $0 | $0 | $0 | Data not available*** |
|
Source: Federal Elections Commission, "Campaign finance data," 2026. This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
* According to the FEC, "Receipts are anything of value (money, goods, services or property) received by a political committee." |
|||||
Satellite spending
- See also: Satellite spending
Satellite spending describes political spending not controlled by candidates or their campaigns; that is, any political expenditures made by groups or individuals that are not directly affiliated with a candidate. This includes spending by political party committees, super PACs, trade associations, and 501(c)(4) nonprofit groups.[13][14][15]
If available, this section includes links to online resources tracking satellite spending in this election. To notify us of a resource to add, email us.
| By candidate | By election |
|---|---|
Endorsements
Ballotpedia is gathering information about candidate endorsements. To send us an endorsement, click here.
2020
See also: California's 5th Congressional District election, 2020
General election
General election for U.S. House California District 5
Incumbent Mike Thompson defeated Scott Giblin in the general election for U.S. House California District 5 on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Mike Thompson (D) | 76.1 | 271,233 |
 | Scott Giblin (R) | 23.9 | 85,227 | |
| Total votes: 356,460 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Nonpartisan primary election
Nonpartisan primary for U.S. House California District 5
Incumbent Mike Thompson and Scott Giblin defeated John Wesley Tyler and Jason Kishineff in the primary for U.S. House California District 5 on March 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Mike Thompson (D) | 67.5 | 146,980 |
| ✔ | | Scott Giblin (R) | 20.2 | 43,987 |
 | John Wesley Tyler (D) | 9.5 | 20,725 | |
 | Jason Kishineff (D) | 2.7 | 5,928 | |
| Total votes: 217,620 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Campaign themes
2026
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
John Wesley Tyler completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2025. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Tyler's responses.
| Collapse all
- The only way to fix the two-party system is to toss aside party affiliation and vote for the best person, period. Professional politicians on both sides of the aisle, out of fear of losing power, have brought Congress to a standstill, creating for the first time a true NPC (#NonPlayerCongress). Lack of leadership, lack of imagination, and a severe lack of energy has paralyzed the Legislative Branch. We need REAL CHANGE. I am that agent of change that will vow to shake things up in Washington and get the work done.
- I hold out great hope for a peaceful world. Wars are not inevitable; they are manufactured by those who would profit from them. We can bring down spending in government by limiting the manufacture, purchase and use of military weapons around the world. We can better solve for the real problems that face our planet by refocusing our resources where they will do the most good. Money spent on changing the health care system, changing the way we educate our kids, changing the way we deal with corporations, changing the way we pay taxes, changing the way we feed the hungry and house the poor...these are monies well spent.
- We have to come together as a human race to balance out the power structure that is growing ever larger and becoming ever more entrenched as we speak. If we do not come together as one people and put aside our differences for the good of all of humanity, then the machine world and those who control the AI will take our humanity from us.
Not only was Carl Sagan a renowned scientist and professor, but a lover of nature and conservationist as well; two traits that I greatly admire and try to have within myself. Sagan was also, from very early on, sounding the alarm on Climate Change. Even in the 70's, his programs were geared toward the idea that the problems associated with a quickly changing climate were due, in fact, to the destructive human behaviors of the last full century. He was not afraid to stand up to the government or the fossil fuel industry and insist that they change their practices or risk destroying what is left of a environmentally balanced system.
For its science, I love the book "Irreducible" by Frederico Faggin.
2) To problem solve and legislate with integrity, to seek out common ground for the good of the many.
I appreciate Sagan for a number of reasons. First, through the TV program COSMOS, this revolutionary Teacher and Scientist brought the wonders of the Universe right into my living room. I learned to love nature and astronomy, and this is probably one of the reasons that I became a science teacher myself. To me, Dr. Sagan made the most difficult concepts accessible to everyone and I still strive to do that every day for my students.
Not only was Carl Sagan a renowned scientist and professor, but a lover of nature and conservationist as well; two traits that I greatly admire and try to have within myself. Sagan was also, from very early on, sounding the alarm on Climate Change. Even in the 70's, his programs were geared toward the idea that the problems associated with a quickly changing climate were due, in fact, to the destructive human behaviors of the last full century. He was not afraid to stand up to the government or the fossil fuel industry and insist that they change their practices or risk destroying what is left of an environmentally balanced system.
However, that does not mean that a professional politician incumbent is automatically a better choice. There are a number of brand new, politically inexperienced voices in Washington right now doing a great job representing their constituents. The best candidate is not the complete novice, nor the entrenched career politician. The ideal candidate has a blend of public service in the highest levels of local government and the real-world experience that is gained only by being a life-long part of the working class and small business community.
2. Science, Space and Technology: I'm a Science Teacher and someone that loves the study of the Universe. There is no question that I would ask to serve on this committee. Space science and the exploration of the Universe will undoubtedly reveal undiscovered secrets that will help bring us into the future. I would always be ready to ensure that NASA and NOAA were fully funded and that the United States was consistently involved in cooperative efforts with other space exploring nations of the world to make our planet a less mysterious place and to create a common goal that would work to reduce Geo-political tensions around the world. Space cannot be made into the next war-making frontier. I will work to make sure that does not happen.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
2020
John Wesley Tyler completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2020. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Tyler's responses.
| Collapse all
- Solving the Global Climate Crisis must be our first priority.
- Social, Racial and Economic Justice are rights guaranteed to every American of every persuasion, race, ethnicity and gender.
- America has fallen victim to corporate takeover. We need to restore our country by re-establishing a government "of the people, by the people and for the people." (Lincoln)
So, like our economy, the gap between the "haves" and the "have nots" continues to grow. Under-performing schools in the most economically disadvantaged communities struggle more than ever. Teachers are paid less and less compared to other professionals and Federal support keeps dwindling.
If we are to have any hope of moving confidently into the future, we need to better educate and train our children and promote pioneering State Boards of Education willing to find success doing things differently. We should promote Vocational Education that includes Renewable Energy Technicians, Electric Vehicle Techs and Computer Science and Coding.
Educators need to be valued more highly among the professional working class. If we increased teacher pay with Federal funding, we could attract the best and the brightest to join the profession instead of the private sector.
Not only was Carl Sagan a renowned scientist and professor, but a lover of nature and conservationist as well; two traits that I greatly admire and try to have within myself. Sagan was also, from very early on, sounding the alarm on Climate Change. Even in the 70's, his programs were geared toward the idea that the problems associated with a quickly changing climate were due, in fact, to the destructive human behaviors of the last full century. He was not afraid to stand up to the government or the fossil fuel industry and insist that they change their practices or risk destroying what is left of a environmentally balanced system.
I'm a musician that plays the guitar and likes to sing (and my wife plays the piano and ukulele and sings) so I'm always trying to learn new songs and they end up playing over and over in my head until I get it in there for good. Right now, Bob Dylan's "Blowin' in the Wind" plays a lot because it's so relevant all these years later and I've been playing it quite a bit lately. A song from the new version of "A Star is Born" called "Maybe It's Time" has been important to me lately and that one has also been repeating quite a bit. "Free Falling" by Tom Petty had musical impact recently after my Mom passed away. Finally, I would say that "For What It's Worth" by Buffalo Springfield has been there a lot, too...also highly relevant years after it was written. Music plays a hugely important role in our society and I enjoy it a great deal.
However, that does not mean that a long-term incumbent is automatically a better choice. There are a number of brand new, politically inexperienced voices in Washington right now doing a great job representing their constituents. The best candidate is not the complete novice, nor the entrenched career politician. The ideal candidate has a blend of public service in the highest levels of local government and the real world experience that is gained only by being a life-long part of the working class.
In my opinion, the most difficult part that we will have to get past to solve the problem of our future existence, is our own personal addiction to oil and other products of the fossil fuel and petrochemical industries, most importantly, plastics.
We have a government and economic system that insists on continuing to fund fossil fuel use with subsidies, paid for by every citizen's individual taxes, to keep the companies profitable and make our GDP bottom line look good. Our America has been fully taken over by corporate interests and the barons of Wall Street. Additionally, oil finances and lubricates"war-making" and many of our "economic pillars of society" like Halliburton and Lockheed-Martin are financially addicted to making and selling newer, bigger weapons. There's no better sales pitch than "battle-tested." In our system today, profit is the only motive and as long as profit is celebrated, we will continue to burn the "black gold" and make the wealthiest 1% (the investing class) even wealthier, with no sight for the future or our children's future.
2. Science, Space and Technology: I'm a Science Teacher and someone that loves the study of the Universe. There is no question that I would ask to serve on this committee. Space science and the exploration of the Universe will undoubtedly reveal undiscovered secrets that will help bring us into the future. I would always be ready to ensure that NASA and the NOAA were fully funded and that the United States was consistently involved in cooperative efforts with other space exploring nations of the world to make our planet a less mysterious place and to create a common goal that would work to reduce Geo-political tensions around the world. Space cannot be made into the next war-making frontier. I will work to make sure that does not happen.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
See also
2026 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on February 10, 2020
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on February 18, 2025
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 The Press Democrat, "Why rival Democrat Eric Jones thinks he can unseat Mike Thompson, North Bay's senior congressman," September 9, 2025
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 The San Francisco Chronicle, "Another longtime Bay Area House member is getting an intraparty challenge," September 9, 2025
- ↑ The Sonoma Index-Tribune, "Sonoma Valley Democrats’ forum tonight for Thompson, his primary challengers," February 3, 2026
- ↑ Politico, "Dems unleash House primary challenges in war on gerontocracy," September 16, 2025
- ↑ Democratic Party of California, "2026 Primary Election Endorsements," February 22, 2026
- ↑ Yahoo Finance, "American Dream Institute Launches to Help Progressives Win Back Young Americans," August 22, 2025
- ↑ Eric Jones campaign website, "Home page," accessed March 9, 2026
- ↑ Facebook, "Our Revolution on February 23, 2026," accessed March 9, 2026
- ↑ The Sacramento Bee, "Worlds collide as wine-country Dems vie for conservative Yuba-Sutter voters," March 27, 2026
- ↑ Inside Elections, "A Detailed Analysis of California’s (Maybe) New Congressional Map," August 21, 2025
- ↑ OpenSecrets.org, "Outside Spending," accessed December 12, 2021
- ↑ OpenSecrets.org, "Total Outside Spending by Election Cycle, All Groups," accessed December 12, 2021
- ↑ National Review.com, "Why the Media Hate Super PACs," December 12, 2021
