Goblin House
Goblin House
Area: Full Workup (one official, all sections) (eo_full_workup)
Filed: 2026-05-02T06:35:53.911Z
Source: External LLM via /handoff/congress (attempt #74523)
Resolved official: Jim Costa (entity #10810)
Ingest result: 29 facts · 27 sources · 1 contradictions · 6 voting_records · 2 skipped
Single super-prompt covering every per-official research area in one LLM call: donor mapping, silences, contradictions, telling votes, and constituency baseline. The LLM returns ONE JSON object; the ingest pipeline dispatches each section to its typed table independently, so a malformed or no-data section never blocks the rest.
{ "target_official": { "name": "Jim Costa", "bioguide_id": "C001059" }, "donor_mapping": { "facts": [ { "fact_text": "2023-2024 cycle: Raised $1,680,777. PAC contributions comprised 59.37% of total fundraising ($1,010,513), large individual contributions 40.34% ($686,723), and small individual contributions only 0.29% ($4,980).", "date_occurred": "2024-12-31", "confidence": "secondary", "source_url": "https://www.opensecrets.org/members-of-congress/summary?cid=N00026341" }, { "fact_text": "Top contributing industry in 2023-2024 was Crop Production & Basic Processing at $164,950, followed by Pro-Israel at $141,472, Agricultural Services/Products at $127,150, Oil & Gas at $95,000, and Dairy at $60,350.", "date_occurred": "2024-12-31", "confidence": "secondary", "source_url": "https://www.opensecrets.org/members-of-congress/summary?cid=N00026341" }, { "fact_text": "Top contributor: American Israel Public Affairs Cmte at $136,472 ($121,472 from individuals, $15,000 from PAC). Other top donors include Wonderful Co ($16,500), California Strategies ($14,600), Forhan Co ($13,200), and Joseph Gallo Farms ($13,200).", "date_occurred": "2024-12-31", "confidence": "secondary", "source_url": "https://www.opensecrets.org/members-of-congress/summary?cid=N00026341" }, { "fact_text": "Costa received $506,500 from Agribusiness in the 2021-2022 cycle, among the highest of any House member.", "date_occurred": "2022-12-31", "confidence": "secondary", "source_url": "https://www.opensecrets.org/industries/recips?ind=A&cycle=2022" }, { "fact_text": "Quiver Quantitative estimates Costa's net worth at approximately $4.4-$5.4 million as of late 2025, ranking 138th-177th in Congress.", "date_occurred": "2025-11-08", "confidence": "secondary", "source_url": "https://www.quiverquant.com" }, { "fact_text": "Costa is a third-generation family farmer from the San Joaquin Valley who graduated from California State University, Fresno. He has served in the House since 2005 and previously served in the California State Assembly (1978-1994) and State Senate (1994-2002).", "date_occurred": "2005-01-03", "confidence": "primary", "source_url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Manuel_%22Jim%22_Costa" } ], "connections": [ { "donor_entity_name": "American Israel Public Affairs Cmte", "relationship_type": "pac_donor", "description": "2024: $136,472 via individual ($121,472) and PAC ($15,000) contributions — Costa's single largest contributor", "confidence": "secondary", "source_url": "https://www.opensecrets.org/members-of-congress/summary?cid=N00026341" }, { "donor_entity_name": "Wonderful Co", "relationship_type": "donor", "description": "2024: $16,500 via individual contributions. The Wonderful Company is a $6B global agriculture company with 10,000 employees operating in the Central Valley.", "confidence": "secondary", "source_url": "https://www.opensecrets.org/members-of-congress/summary?cid=N00026341" } ] }, "silences": { "no_data": true, "reason": "No falsifiable silence with the required active-on-adjacent evidence URL could be identified within the specified parameters for this official." }, "contradictions": { "claims": [ { "claim_text": "Costa positions himself as a progressive ally on key votes, voting with the AFL-CIO 92-97% of the time in recent cycles and receiving a lifetime labor score of 92%. He voted against H.R. 1 (OBBBA) calling it 'a direct attack on the communities I represent' that would 'gut Medicaid, Medicare, and SNAP.'", "claim_date": "2025-07-03", "claim_type": "statement", "source_url": "https://costa.house.gov/media/press-releases/rep-jim-costa-votes-against-largest-medicaid-and-snap-cuts-history" }, { "claim_text": "Costa was one of only 10 House Democrats — and one of only two from California — to vote with Republicans to censure Rep. Al Green for disrupting Trump's address to Congress. He was also one of 48 Democrats to vote for the Laken Riley Act mandating ICE detention of undocumented immigrants, and voted yea on the GOP censure resolution against Rep. Ilhan Omar.", "claim_date": "2025-03-06", "claim_type": "vote", "source_url": "https://www.fresnobee.com/opinion/opn-columns-blogs/marek-warszawski/article301500244.html" } ], "contradictions": [ { "claim_a_idx": 0, "claim_b_idx": 1, "type": "statement_vs_disclosure", "severity": "medium", "narrative": "Costa votes with labor and progressive priorities on economic issues yet repeatedly breaks from his party on high-profile Trump-era culture-war votes — censuring Al Green, censuring Ilhan Omar, and supporting the Laken Riley Act. His district (64.9% Hispanic, D+5) is more progressive than his voting record, which reflects a Blue Dog centrism that satisfies agribusiness donors while frustrating progressive activists." } ] }, "telling_votes": [ { "bill_id": "H.Res. 719", "title": "Censuring Representative Al Green of Texas", "vote": "yea", "vote_date": "2025-03-06", "roll_call_url": "https://clerk.house.gov/Votes/2025282", "why_it_matters": "Costa was one of only 10 House Democrats — and only two from California — to vote with all Republicans to censure Rep. Al Green for disrupting Trump's joint address. The vote drew sharp condemnation from progressive groups including Indivisible, whose co-executive director called the defections 'cowardly and unacceptable.' Costa defended his vote citing decorum concerns.", "category": "party_defection" }, { "bill_id": "H.R. 29", "title": "Laken Riley Act", "vote": "yea", "vote_date": "2025-01-07", "roll_call_url": "https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/29", "why_it_matters": "Costa was one of 48 House Democrats — and one of six from California — to support this GOP-led immigration bill requiring mandatory ICE detention for undocumented immigrants accused of certain crimes. The vote represents cross-pressure: his district is 64.9% Hispanic with many immigrant families, yet his moderate positioning requires demonstrating border-security credibility in a R+3-shifting district.", "category": "party_defection" }, { "bill_id": "H.R. 1", "title": "One Big Beautiful Bill Act", "vote": "nay", "vote_date": "2025-07-03", "roll_call_url": "https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/1", "why_it_matters": "Costa voted against the GOP tax-and-spending bill, citing $1.3 trillion in Medicaid/SNAP/ACA cuts that would disproportionately harm his district (18% poverty, 28.4% SNAP reliance). Yet his top donor sectors — Crop Production ($164,950) and Oil & Gas ($95,000) — supported the bill's permanent tax cuts. His vote aligned with constituents over donors.", "category": "constituent_aligned" }, { "bill_id": "H.R. 8034", "title": "Israel Security Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2024", "vote": "yea", "vote_date": "2024-04-20", "roll_call_url": "https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/8034", "why_it_matters": "Costa voted for $26.38 billion in military aid to Israel. His top career donor is AIPAC ($136,472 in 2024 alone). Meanwhile, his majority-Latino district includes progressive activists and younger voters increasingly critical of unconditional military aid. The vote illustrates donor-constituent cross-pressure.", "category": "donor_aligned" }, { "bill_id": "H.Res. 713", "title": "Censuring Representative Ilhan Omar of Minnesota and removing her from committees", "vote": "yea", "vote_date": "2025-09-17", "roll_call_url": "https://clerk.house.gov/Votes/2025276", "why_it_matters": "Costa was one of a small number of Democrats who voted with the GOP majority to censure Rep. Ilhan Omar. The vote passed narrowly and drew criticism from civil rights organizations including CAIR.", "category": "party_defection" }, { "bill_id": "H.R. 3746", "title": "Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023", "vote": "yea", "vote_date": "2023-05-31", "roll_call_url": "https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/house-bill/3746", "why_it_matters": "Costa voted for the Biden-McCarthy debt ceiling deal despite its SNAP work requirement expansions and NEPA streamlining provisions that progressive Democrats opposed. He was among 165 Democrats supporting the compromise — consistent with his Blue Dog identity and prioritization of agricultural stability over progressive purity.", "category": "cross_pressure" } ], "constituency_baseline": { "baseline": { "district_summary": "California's 21st Congressional District encompasses portions of Fresno and Tulare counties in the heart of the San Joaquin Valley. Home to approximately 758,000 residents, it is a majority-minority district with a 64.9% Hispanic population and a median age of 31.9 — far younger than the national average. The district has a median household income of $64,764 with an 18% poverty rate (vs. 12.4% nationally) and 10.1% unemployment (nearly triple the national rate). Only 17.2% of adults hold a bachelor's degree. The economy is anchored in agriculture and food processing, with crop production, dairy, and agricultural services dominating. Homeownership is 52.1% — well below the national rate — while 28.4% of residents rely on SNAP benefits. The seat has a Cook PVI of D+5 but has trended R+3 recently; Costa won the 2024 election by only 5.2%.", "top_employers": [ { "name": "County of Fresno", "employees": 7800, "source_url": "https://www.fresnocountyca.gov" }, { "name": "Wonderful Company (agriculture/food processing)", "employees": 5000, "source_url": "https://www.wonderful.com" }, { "name": "Community Health System (Fresno hospitals)", "employees": 9000, "source_url": "https://www.communitymedical.org" } ], "dominant_industries": [ { "naics": "11", "share": 0.185, "source_url": "https://legisletter.org/legislator/jim-costa-C001059/district" }, { "naics": "62", "share": 0.14, "source_url": "https://legisletter.org/legislator/jim-costa-C001059/district" }, { "naics": "44-45", "share": 0.11, "source_url": "https://legisletter.org/legislator/jim-costa-C001059/district" } ], "recent_ballot_measures": [ { "name": "Proposition 1 — Behavioral Health Services and Bond Measure", "year": 2024, "result": "passed", "margin": "50.2%-49.8%", "source_url": "https://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/prior-elections" }, { "name": "Proposition 36 — Homelessness, Drug Addiction and Theft Reduction Act", "year": 2024, "result": "passed", "margin": "68.4%-31.6%", "source_url": "https://www.sos.ca.gov/elections/prior-elections" } ], "demographic_anchors": [ { "label": "median household income", "value": "$64,764", "source_url": "https://legisletter.org/legislator/jim-costa-C001059/district" }, { "label": "poverty rate", "value": "18%", "source_url": "https://legisletter.org/legislator/jim-costa-C001059/district" }, { "label": "SNAP participation rate", "value": "28.4%", "source_url": "https://legisletter.org/legislator/jim-costa-C001059/district" }, { "label": "Hispanic population share", "value": "64.9%", "source_url": "https://legisletter.org/legislator/jim-costa-C001059/district" }, { "label": "homeownership rate", "value": "52.1%", "source_url": "https://legisletter.org/legislator/jim-costa-C001059/district" }, { "label": "bachelor's degree or higher", "value": "17.2%", "source_url": "https://legisletter.org/legislator/jim-costa-C001059/district" } ] } } }