Jim Costa
| James Manuel "Jim" Costa | |
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| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California's 20th district |
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| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office January 3, 2005 |
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| Preceded by | Cal Dooley |
| Personal details | |
| Born | April 13, 1952 Fresno, California |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | single |
| Residence | Fresno, California |
| Alma mater | California State University, Fresno |
| Occupation | Rancher, political assistant |
| Religion | Roman Catholic |
James Manuel "Jim" Costa (born April 13, 1952) is the U.S. Representative for California's 20th congressional district, serving since his initial election in 2004. He is a member of the Democratic Party. The district takes in large and predominantly Latino portions of Fresno and Bakersfield in the Central Valley.
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[edit] Early life and education
Born in Fresno, Costa is a third-generation family farmer. His grandparents emigrated from Portugal's Azores Islands in the early 20th century. He attended San Joaquin Memorial High School and graduated in the class of 1970. He then graduated in 1974 from Fresno State, where he was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon.[citation needed] He worked as a special assistant to Congressman John Krebs from 1975 to 1976, and as administrative assistant to Assemblyman Richard Lehman from 1976 to 1978.
[edit] California Legislature
Costa represented part of Fresno in the state legislature for 24 years, serving in the California State Assembly from 1978 until 1994, and in the California State Senate from 1994 until 2002.
[edit] U.S. House of Representatives
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[edit] Committee assignments
[edit] Caucus memberships
- Beef Caucus Specialty
- Congressional Organ Donation Caucus (Co-Founder)
- Congressional Soils Caucus
- Congressional Victims' Rights Caucus (Co-Founder and Co-Chair)
- Congressional Water Caucus (Co-Founder)
- Methamphetamine Caucus
Like most Democrats from the Central Valley, Costa is somewhat more conservative than is typical for Democrats from California. He is a member of the Blue Dog Coalition.
[edit] Political campaigns
[edit] 2004
In 2004, Costa entered the Democratic primary for the 20th District, which was opened up by the retirement of its seven-term incumbent, Cal Dooley. While Dooley endorsed his chief of staff, Lisa Quigley, as his successor, nearly all of the state Democratic establishment, including Senator Dianne Feinstein, endorsed Costa. Costa won a bruising primary and faced Republican Party state senator Roy Ashburn in November.
On paper, Costa was an overwhelming favorite. The 20th district is a heavily Democratic, 63% Latino-majority district; it gave Al Gore his highest vote total outside the state's two large conurbations (Sacramento and the San Francisco Bay Area in the north and Los Angeles and San Diego to the south). Nonetheless, the Republicans spent a substantial amount of money on the race. Ashburn's campaign made plays on Costa's name, "Costa's going to cost ya," and linked him to former Governor Gray Davis, calling them "two taxing twins." Ultimately, Costa won the election with 54% of the vote to Ashburn's 46%. Ashburn only kept the margin within single digits by winning heavily Republican Kings County.
[edit] 2006
Costa ran unopposed for reelection in 2006. The Democrats won control of the House in that election, and Costa became chairman of the Natural Resources Committee's Energy and Mineral Resources Subcommittee. He is also a member of the House Agriculture Committee.
[edit] 2008
Costa was reelected in 2008 with 74 percent of the vote, the highest percentage for a Democratic incumbent outside Sacramento, the Bay Area and Southern California.
[edit] 2010
Costa was challenged for reelection by Republican nominee Andy Vidak. In his closest race yet, the race was officially called for Costa nearly three weeks after Election Day,[1] with the unofficial final tally standing at 45,806 votes (51.8%) for Costa and 42,773 votes (48.2%) for Vidak.[2]
[edit] References
- ^ "Costa Holds Seat, Keeps GOP Pickups at 63 : Roll Call Politics". Rollcall.com. 2010-11-23. http://www.rollcall.com/news/-200878-1.html. Retrieved 2011-10-30.
- ^ [1][dead link]
[edit] External links
- U.S. Representative Jim Costa official U.S. House site
- Jim Costa for U.S. Congress official campaign site
- Biography at WhoRunsGov.com at The Washington Post
- Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Voting record maintained by The Washington Post
- Biography, voting record, and interest group ratings at Project Vote Smart
- Congressional profile at GovTrack
- Congressional profile at OpenCongress
- Issue positions and quotes at On The Issues
- Financial information at OpenSecrets.org
- Staff salaries, trips and personal finance at LegiStorm.com
- Campaign finance reports and data at the Federal Election Commission
- Campaign contributions at the National Institute for Money in State Politics
- Appearances on C-SPAN programs
- Profile at SourceWatch
| California Assembly | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Ken Maddy |
California State Assemblyman, 30th District 1978–1994 |
Succeeded by Brian Setencich |
| California Senate | ||
| Preceded by Phil Wyman |
California State Senator, 16th District 1994–2002 |
Succeeded by Dean Florez |
| United States House of Representatives | ||
| Preceded by Cal Dooley |
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California's 20th congressional district 2005–present |
Succeeded by Incumbent |
| United States order of precedence | ||
| Preceded by Mike Conaway R-Texas |
United States Representatives by seniority 235th |
Succeeded by Henry Cuellar D-Texas |
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