Letter to Thompson’s Campaign Issuing a Debate Challenge
July 22, 2026
Rep. Mike Thompson, Candidate
Thomas Dowling, Campaign Manager
Dear Rep. Thompson,
I'm writing to formally invite you to a series of debates ahead of the November election.
California's 4th Congressional District was completely redrawn this cycle and now includes nine counties: Colusa, Lake, Napa, Placer, Sacramento, Sonoma, Sutter, Yolo, and Yuba. Many of these voters have never had the chance to see their member of Congress answer questions in person, and we think that should change before they cast their ballot.
We're proposing:
Nine in-person debates, one in each county of the district. Every community in this newly drawn district deserves the same access to both candidates, not just the counties Congressman Thompson has represented for years.
At least one televised debate for voters who aren't able to attend any of the in-person events, so that no one in the district is left out of the conversation.
We think the case for this is strong. In the June 2 primary, Congressman Thompson finished with under 41% of the vote, meaning over 59% of CA-04 voters chose someone other than the incumbent. Nearly 37% of primary voters backed candidates who won't appear on the November ballot at all. Those voters don't have a candidate left in this race, and the best way to earn their trust is for both of us to show up in their counties and answer their questions directly.
We'd like to begin working out dates and venues as soon as possible so we can get these scheduled well ahead of the election.
Our campaign is happy to coordinate with local civic organizations, chambers of commerce, and news outlets in each county to help host these events, and we're open to discussing format, moderators, and logistics at your convenience.
We'd appreciate a response by Wednesday, July 29th so both campaigns can begin locking in venues and dates. Please don't hesitate to reach out directly to schedule a call between our teams.
Thank you for your consideration. We look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Eric Jones
Eric Jones for Congress
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Voters can sign the petition, demanding Rep. Thompson participate in the debates, here
