Jim Costa Formally Declares Bid for House Ag Committee Top Democratic Post

Representative Jim Costa, a California Democrat who has represented the San Joaquin Valley since 2005, formally declared his candidacy Thursday for ranking member of the House Agriculture Committee, setting up a contest against Representative Shontel Brown of Ohio, who announced her own bid last month and holds the endorsement of the outgoing ranking member, Angie Craig of Minnesota.

Costa lost to Craig in the 2024 contest for the same post. He is now betting that two decades of committee tenure and a district where more than three in 10 households rely on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program give him the standing to win the gavel-side role this time.

What does Costa say he would do?

"My agenda is simple: keep farmers farming, keep families fed, and make this committee work for every member," Costa wrote in a letter to Democratic colleagues sent Thursday.

His pitch rests heavily on institutional experience. Costa says he helped write three farm bills that became law, established the first horticulture and organic agriculture title, and served on the conference committee that completed the 2018 farm bill. He currently serves as ranking member of the subcommittee on livestock, dairy, and poultry.

The policy backdrop he describes is one of stalled authorizations and rising input costs. "The farm bill extension has lapsed," Costa wrote. "President Trump's tariffs have raised costs and threatened markets for our farmers, while his war in Iran has driven up diesel and fertilizer prices. Meanwhile, Republican SNAP cuts are making it harder for families to put food on the table."

He argues that reversing those cuts will require cooperation across party lines. "Reversing those cuts will require working with members from farm country on both sides of the aisle," Costa wrote. "I have spent two decades building those relationships, and I will put them to work whether we hold the gavel or serve in the minority."

Why does SNAP loom so large for him?

Costa's district ranks fourth in the nation for the share of households that depend on SNAP. He framed that fact as the foundation of his policy approach: supporting both producers and the families struggling to afford food.

He pledged to "make restoring and strengthening [SNAP] a central priority of the committee's work." Specifically, he wrote: "I will keep fighting to reverse the cost shift to states, oppose new barriers to assistance, and improve access to healthy, affordable food."

What does the race look like?

Brown, currently the vice ranking member on the committee, enters with the backing of Craig, who is leaving Congress after losing her bid to replace departing Senator Tina Smith of Minnesota. That endorsement gives Brown the imprimatur of the outgoing leader, while Costa counters with seniority and a legislative record that spans nutrition, horticulture, organic programs and livestock oversight.

What would his leadership priorities be?

On the producer side, Costa cast farm policy in security terms. "Food security is national security," he wrote. "I will fight for a strong farm safety net, crop insurance, disaster assistance, credit, and economic relief so that one difficult year does not become a farm's last. Our policies must work for producers of every size and background, including small, beginning, and historically underserved farmers."

He also addressed farm labor directly, describing farmworkers as "many of them immigrants, [who] help feed our country and strengthen our communities." Costa committed to ensuring their voices appear in hearings and policy discussions, to fighting for supportive legislation within the committee's jurisdiction, and to working across committees "to advance bipartisan immigration reform that protects workers, keeps families together, and gives farmers a reliable workforce."

His management pledges to colleagues include:

• Asking for each district's priorities before every major negotiation and carrying them into the room.
• Providing timely farm bill briefings open to every Democratic office during negotiations.
• Giving subcommittee leaders and newer members opportunities to shape hearings, develop legislation and participate in negotiations.
• Bringing roundtables and listening sessions to members' districts.
• Building a Democratic staff that reflects the diversity of the caucus and the communities it serves.

What happens next?

The decision rests with House Democrats, who must choose between a twenty-year committee veteran from the nation's most productive farm state and a first-term-adjacent vice ranking member carrying the departing leader's endorsement. The outcome will shape how Democrats approach a lapsed farm bill, tariff-battered export markets and SNAP restoration in the next Congress.