Former Assemblywoman Patty Berg (D-Eureka), who was termed out at the beginning of this month, said this week that she'd hate to lose Thompson as a congressman, but wouldn't definitively say no to running as his replacement if the opportunity arose.
"I don't know how realistic it is that he'll get the appointment," said Berg, who lives in Thompson's first Congressional District, which stretches along California's North Coast and into the northern wine-growing counties and Yolo County.
"I'll certainly leave all my options open," she added.
Berg said she thinks Thompson, who has so far dodged questions over whether he'd accept the Interior post if offered, honestly enjoys his role as a congressman.
"And yet, if the President asks you, how do you say no?" she said. "Right now, it's sort of, ‘well, we'll see what happens.'"
Another rumored potential candidate, state Sen. Pat Wiggins (D-Santa Rosa), is not interested in the congressional post if it comes up, said spokesman Dave Miller.
"She's been named chair of the state and local government committee, and that allows her to look at all kinds of things she's interested in," Miller said, adding that Wiggins is only halfway through her first term in the state Senate.
The 1st Congressional District, one of the largest in California, has a more than 20-percentage-point gap that favors Democrats in registration, according to California Secretary of State's numbers from October 20. More than 46 percent of the voters in the district are registered Democrat.
Thompson, first elected in 1998, has never faced a serious re-election challenge, and won re-election with 68.4 percent of the vote last month.
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