5/5

Congressman Costa is a Conservative Democrat and damn proud of it. In the state legislature he helped kneecap rent control legislation and drafted the state’s three-strikes law. When Costa entered Congresses in 2004 he joined the much despised Blue Dog Coalition, which has been a throne in the side of the progressive movement for decades.

Costa had to be dragged kicking and screaming to support the Affordable Care Act, and that is basically the nicest thing we can say about him. When he is not watering down Democratic bills or voting outright with Republicans, Costa can be found salivating over the thought of cutting "entitlement programs". He was one of the few House Democrats to support the Simpson-Bowles austerity plan that if passed would have tried to balance the budget on the backs of senior citizens. Costa is also awash in oil money, which is no surprise given his outspoken support for the Keystone XL pipeline and offshore drilling. Likewise, Costa is a vehement opponent of even modest Democratic environmental goals like cap and trade. Frankly, his environmental record alone would make him a prime target for the left.

Furthermore, he is not that good a politician. In 2014, Costa almost managed to fumble away his district (which Obama won two years earlier by 19%) to a no-name Republican who he outspent 5 to 1. Why spend your whole career acting like a Republican if you can't even outperform the top of the ticket.

Costa has to go, and Democrats in California are finally beginning to sour on the guy. In his most recent reelection bid, Costa failed to clinch the endorsement of the state party, while his progressive opponent got the backing of the SEIU, California Labor Federation, and a good number of locally elected Democrats. California's Jungle Primary rules make challenging incumbents a bit more complicated, and Costa was able to move on to November's election with 37.5% of the vote. That was the lowest vote share of any incumbent in the entire state, and with redistricting around the corner progressives have a very good shot of muscling Costa out in 2022.