Costa Makes Second Run at House Ag Committee Leadership

Rep. Jim Costa (D–Fresno) is running to lead Democrats on the House Agriculture Committee, positioning himself as the candidate with two decades of farm-country relationships and direct farming experience.

The 74-year-old congressman formally announced the bid in a letter to Democratic colleagues. He previously ran for the same ranking member position in the current Congress but lost to Rep. Angie Craig (D–Minn.), who has since made a failed Senate run, opening the spot.

Costa faces at least one opponent: Rep. Shontel Brown (D–Ohio), the committee’s vice ranking member, who represents Cleveland and was elected to Congress in 2021.

The leadership vote is contingent on Costa winning his own 12th-term reelection bid next week. The Cook Political Report rates that race “solid” for Costa.

The Breakdown

• Costa has served on the House Agriculture Committee since his 2004 election and currently serves as ranking member of the Subcommittee on Livestock, Dairy, and Poultry.
• He cites authoring provisions in three farm bills that became law, establishing the first horticulture and organic agriculture title, and serving on the 2018 farm bill conference committee.
• This Congress, he secured provisions for specialty crop research, precision agriculture, dairy nutrition, and watershed protection in the House-passed farm bill.
• The farm bill extension has lapsed, creating pressure for whoever leads committee Democrats in the next Congress.

What This Means for You

The ranking member sets Democrats’ agriculture policy priorities and serves as their lead negotiator on farm bills — legislation that shapes crop insurance, commodity support, food assistance, and conservation programs affecting Central Valley farmers and consumers. Costa frames his experience in farm country and committee relationships as the differentiator in what is effectively a job interview among House Democrats. Whether he wins determines who shapes Democratic positioning on issues like SNAP funding, tariff policy, and farm subsidies that directly affect Fresno’s agriculture-dependent economy. The vote itself is internal to House Democrats, not on your ballot, but Costa’s own reelection next week is.

What to Watch

Costa’s pitch emphasizes bipartisan deal-making and farm-country credibility, claiming “two decades building those relationships” with members from both parties. That’s a standard play for committee leadership — the question is whether Democratic colleagues see rural California farm experience as more valuable than Cleveland representation when the party is trying to rebuild its rural coalition. The material gives no timeline for when House Democrats will actually vote on the ranking member position, and it names only one competitor (Brown), leaving open whether others will enter. Costa’s own reelection is rated “solid,” meaning the internal Democratic vote is the real contest here, not the general election itself.