The Eagle’s endorsement for U.S. House 4th District Democratic primary

4th District

Democratic

James Thompson is our narrow choice in this primary because of his background as a champion for those who may be overlooked and underserved by government. He lost the April 2017 special election to fill Mike Pompeo’s seat by 6 percentage points and has been running for another shot at the job since.

A 46-year-old civil rights attorney, Thompson focuses much of his campaign on issues that affect low-income and middle-class families. He advocates increasing the minimum wage so that workers are less likely to have to work multiple jobs, and supports the efforts of unions in strengthening collective bargaining. Raising the quality of public education is also a priority.

Thompson has risen from humble beginnings. He lived in poverty as a child, then served as an infantryman in the Army before using the GI Bill to attend college and receive a law degree. He understands well the challenges that face the district’s impoverished families and makes them a focus in his private practice. That would extend to work in Congress.

Campaign finance reform is another of Thompson’s larger priorities, believing the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision adversely affected the balance of money and voters in elections.

Thompson decided to ride the democratic socialism train recently by bringing Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and House nominee Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York to Wichita for a rally in front of about 4,000 people. Thompson sparked progressive Democrats, but the timing seemed odd in primary season and ties to democratic socialism (which Thompson said he doesn’t espouse, but his views are “really close”) will be part of the Republican playbook to defeat him in November.

He has been outspoken in his criticism of the Wichita City Council and city manager Robert Layton in last December’s swatting death of Andrew Finch, saying the police force is not fully trained, staffed or funded. “That lays at your feet, so the blood of Andrew Finch is on your hands just as much as it is the shooting officer and the idiot from California who made the phone call,” Thompson told Council members in January. While Thompson may well be correct, such criticism of a public body is unusual for a congressional candidate.

Thompson, however, has relished the role of fighter all his life. He will make a strong Democratic challenger in November.

Laura Lombard, a 34-year-old international trade executive, would also be a strong candidate. Making her first primary run for office — she lost out to Thompson last year in a Democratic caucus to decide who would run for Pompeo’s seat — Lombard says she’s running first because “when you don’t like what you’re seeing with your country, you do something about it.” She has a background in trade, founding a company that helps companies with exports between the U.S. and Middle East. She emphasizes issues such as economics and an unimpeded special counsel investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.