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Eric Jones (Democrat) and Mike Thompson (Democrat) are the nominees for California's 4th congressional district in the November 3, 2026 general election. Mike Thompson is the incumbent. By their latest FEC reports, Eric Jones's campaign had raised $18.1 million (through October 14, 2026) and Mike Thompson's campaign $5.5 million (through October 14, 2026). Outside groups have reported $1.3 million for Eric Jones and $3.3 million against; $3.6 million for Mike Thompson and $4.2 million against.
Eric Jones (DEM), Mike Thompson (DEM, incumbent).
5 others filed with the FEC; any ads they ran are below. 0 ads analyzed, 0 with at least one technique in the copy.
Newest first. The paid-for-by line is the advertiser's own filing.
Also on every California ballot: 14 statewide ballot measures →The ballot wording and the official arguments, read for rhetorical techniques.
How to vote in California
From California's official election office. Each line links to the official page it came from.
Registration
Register by Mon, Oct 19 (Conditional (same-day) registration Oct 20 - Nov 3). Same-day registration: Conditional registration, provisional ballot, Oct 20 - Nov 3 (passed)Source: sos.ca.gov ↗Source: sos.ca.gov ↗
Early voting in person
Mon, Oct 5 to (Varies by county; VCA vote centers open Oct 24)Source: sos.ca.gov ↗
Checked October 8, 2026. Rules can change; confirm with the official site before you go.
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Money in this race
From FEC filings for 2025–26. Outside spending is money a group spends on its own about a candidate — TV and online ads, mail, canvassing. It is not a donation to the campaign, and the candidate does not control it. Supporting means it was spent to help that candidate win; Opposing means it was spent to defeat them, usually on attack ads. Groups report it within 24 or 48 hours as the election nears. Raised is the campaign's own fundraising, as of its latest quarterly report. Largest donors come from each outside spender's own FEC receipts, with each donor's share of its itemized receipts; donors under $100,000 are not named. People are shown with the employer and occupation they reported. A donor that is itself a political committee is shown with its own largest donors. Companies and nonprofits don't report their funders to the FEC, so the trail ends there, and the page says so.
Eric Jones (DEM)
Raised
$18.1M through 2026-10-14individuals $3.2M · PACs $0 · candidate's own money, incl. loans $14.9M · cash on hand $1.5M
Outside spending
$3.3M opposing Jones · $1.3M supporting Jones· latest reported 2026-10-29
Largest outside spenders
BDA PAC— $3.1M opposing JonesLargest donors:
THE BENCH $1.0M (26%) (an organization: its own funders aren't reported to the FEC); BLUE DOG ACTION FUND $700K (17%) (an organization: its own funders aren't reported to the FEC); Samuel Walton $500K (12%), CEO, Walmart; Patricia Nierenberg $361K (9%), Self Employed, Investments; Jason Eastwick Carroll $250K (6%), HRT Financial, PartnerNEW LEADERSHIP NOW— $1.3M supporting JonesLargest donors:
Elisa Stad $2.0M (57%), Self, Self; Dan Gillespie $400K (11%), Dragoneer Investment Group, Partner; Maurice Duca $250K (7%), Igsb, Partner; GILLESPIE FAMILY TRUST $225K (6%) (an organization: its own funders aren't reported to the FEC); David Trujillo $100K (3%), TPG, PartnerARTICLE ONE PAC— $203K opposing JonesLargest donors:
ARTICLE ONE ACTION FUND $2.6M (54%) (an organization: its own funders aren't reported to the FEC); OPPORTUNITY FORWARD ALLIANCE $750K (15%) (an organization: its own funders aren't reported to the FEC); GUZMAN FOUNDATION $550K (11%) (an organization: its own funders aren't reported to the FEC); SERVANT-LEADER FUND INC. $500K (10%); Glen Tullman $175K (4%), Transcarent, CEO
NEW LEADERSHIP NOW— $4.1M opposing Thompson, $20K supporting ThompsonLargest donors:
Elisa Stad $2.0M (57%), Self, Self; Dan Gillespie $400K (11%), Dragoneer Investment Group, Partner; Maurice Duca $250K (7%), Igsb, Partner; GILLESPIE FAMILY TRUST $225K (6%) (an organization: its own funders aren't reported to the FEC); David Trujillo $100K (3%), TPG, PartnerBDA PAC— $1.3M supporting ThompsonLargest donors:
THE BENCH $1.0M (26%) (an organization: its own funders aren't reported to the FEC); BLUE DOG ACTION FUND $700K (17%) (an organization: its own funders aren't reported to the FEC); Samuel Walton $500K (12%), CEO, Walmart; Patricia Nierenberg $361K (9%), Self Employed, Investments; Jason Eastwick Carroll $250K (6%), HRT Financial, PartnerARTICLE ONE PAC— $1.3M supporting ThompsonLargest donors:
ARTICLE ONE ACTION FUND $2.6M (54%) (an organization: its own funders aren't reported to the FEC); OPPORTUNITY FORWARD ALLIANCE $750K (15%) (an organization: its own funders aren't reported to the FEC); GUZMAN FOUNDATION $550K (11%) (an organization: its own funders aren't reported to the FEC); SERVANT-LEADER FUND INC. $500K (10%); Glen Tullman $175K (4%), Transcarent, CEOCENTER FORWARD COMMITTEE— $750K supporting ThompsonLargest donors:
CENTER FORWARD $3.5M (92%) (an organization: its own funders aren't reported to the FEC); PMI US CORPORATE SERVICES $150K (4%) (an organization: its own funders aren't reported to the FEC); CHEVRON $100K (3%) (an organization: its own funders aren't reported to the FEC)NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE— $115K supporting ThompsonLargest donors:
CREPAC FEDERAL $2.5M (26%) (its largest donors: NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS POLITICAL ACTION COMMITTEE $1.3M); TEXAS ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS FEDERAL PAC $1.4M (15%)and 4 more
Bundled through PACs
$3,500 through 1 PAC · FEC bulk data of 2026-11-01JSTREETPAC— $3,500 from 1 giftLobbyist/registrant PAC
503 PACs gave directly — alphabetical; the legal limit is $5,000 per election
A PLEASANT PENINSULA PAC $3,000
ABBOTT LABORATORIES EMPLOYEE PAC $4,500
ABBVIE PAC $3,500
ADVANCED MEDICAL TECHNOLOGY ASSN PAC $4,000
ADVANCING DEMOCRACY AND MOBILIZATION PAC $5,000
AECOM PAC $1,000
AFLAC PAC $5,000
AG PAC $1,000
AICPA PAC $10K
AIR LINE PILOTS ASSOCIATION INTERNATIONAL PAC $7,500
An ad is on this page because its own "Paid for by" line is a campaign in this race; or it comes from a national Senate group and ran mostly in CA; or it ran mostly in CA and names a candidate — unless its sponsor is a campaign for some other office. Ads from outside groups appear alongside the campaigns' own.
Campaigns run one text as many separate ads. Identical text from the same sponsor is one card here, marked with its number of variants.
A technique is a specific rhetorical move in the wording, found by our model and explained in one line. It is not a claim that the ad is false.
Claims are checked when a reader asks: press "Check this ad's claims" on a card. Running a check and seeing its verdicts are part of Semblen Pro, because each check costs money to run; anyone can see which claims an ad makes. The ten ads with the most money behind them in each race are checked ahead of time.
Claim verdicts say what the cited sources say. A verdict that an ad is wrong or misleading is shown only when it cites an established fact-checker or an institutional record — Congress, a federal agency, a court — and its confidence is not low; a weaker one is not shown at all. Each verdict shows what it rests on and how confident it is. If we got one wrong, press Disagree: a verdict that readers dispute and no one defends comes down.
Video ads come from the campaigns' own YouTube channels; the transcript is analyzed. Meta ads are analyzed on their text; their video and images are not, yet.