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Is Eric Jones really a progressive? His donation to a Bush family Republican says otherwise

Artificial Intelligence is “in”, quality healthcare is “out”

By Roberta Millstein

Is Eric Jones, running to unseat Mike Thompson in Congressional District 4, really a progressive?  His supporters often describe him that way, with Our Revolution, for example, stating that he has a “bold, progressive vision.” 

Would a liberal or a progressive or any sort of committed Democrat donate to a Republican candidate from a well-known establishment Republican family?  One who seeks to dismantle health care support for his constituents?  Because this is what Jones has done.

On October 28, 2025 — after Jones had already declared his House campaign as a Democrat — he donated the maximum amount allowed by the state of Maine ($2075) for a candidate running in the Republican primary for governor. The candidate is Jonathan Bush, cousin of George W. Bush and nephew of George H. W. Bush. Here is a screenshot showing Eric Jones’s donation to Jonathan Bush’s campaign:

The full list of donors to Jonathan Bush’s campaign can be found at https://mainecampaignfinance.com/index.html#/exploreDetails/554869/10/0/51/2026 ; click where it says “2026 January Semiannual Report“. I have blacked out Jones’s address for a little bit more privacy, although anyone who really wants to confirm it is the same Eric Jones can click through to find it, as it is public information.

Indeed, a number of Bush family members join Eric Jones in supporting Jonathan Bush’s Republican run for governor in Maine.  These include Former President George W. Bush and former First Lady Laura Bush. Here are screenshots showing their donations:

The full list of donors to Jonathan Bush’s campaign can be found at https://mainecampaignfinance.com/index.html#/exploreDetails/554869/10/0/51/2026 ; click where it says “2026 January Semiannual Report“.

In case that is not enough to convince you that Eric Jones is supporting a “real” Republican, consider the words of the Maine Democrats, who state that Jonathan Bush is “push[ing] his dangerous plan to cut health care for Mainers”:

“Jonathan Bush’s attacks on MaineCare aren’t new. In the ad, Bush says he’ll “audit every program,” but we know he plans to use AI to kick Mainers off MaineCare. He made that clear on the debate stage just this week and when he compared MaineCare to Putin bombing schools.” (link)

(Maine Care is Maine’s name for Medicaid, just as Medi-Cal is California’s name for Medicaid).

This is particularly telling because Jones, who is originally from Maine, has made increasing access to health care and health care affordability one of the major planks of his campaign.  Do people in Maine not deserve affordable and accessible health care too?  Why would Jones, a purported Democratic promoter of health care, support a candidate who wanted to dismantle health care, a Republican candidate opposed by his state Democratic party?

Here’s one way to connect the dots. Jonathan Bush supports using AI for health care. Apparently Jones, a board member of the Maven Clinic (per his LinkedIn page and other internet sources), does too. Fierce Healthcare quotes Jones as follows:

“Maven’s model, coupling technology with clinical providers, is powerful in providing the right care at the right time and changing the way we think about care delivery. The high utilization and engagement on Maven’s platform speak to the pressing need Maven solves.” (link).

The Maven Clinic, it should be noted, recently “introduced Maven Intelligence, an artificial intelligence-powered infrastructure embedded across its virtual clinic, care programs and benefits platform.”  The Dragoneer Investment Group, where Jones worked until just before he resigned to run for Congress and where he was made partner, was one of the venture capitalist firms who invested in the Maven Clinic in August 2021 and then again in October 2024. A few weeks after the investment in 2024, Maven Clinic laid off 10% of its workforce.

And this would fit the model of venture capitalism, Jones’s line of work for more than 12 years: lay off workers, introduce “efficiencies,” and increase the bottom line for the company, which of course increases the bottom line for the venture capitalist firm.  By now, most of us have experienced and read about all of the failures of artificial intelligence, some amusing, some verging on terrifying.

Here it is also worth noting that Dragoneer has invested in Anthropic, the artificial intelligence company. I recommend this account of Anthropic’s air pollution increasing, greenhouse gas spewing, and water guzzling activities, other puzzling things for a progressive/liberal/Democrat to support.[1]. Edited to add: Along similar lines, the Jones-supported Bush has stated: “Renewable energy requirements go out the door, into the shredder. Wind and solar subsidies go into the shredder… This entire environmental virtue signaling on working people’s expense must go.” Would a genuine progressive really support these sorts of views on the environment?

It would seem, then, that Jones the “Democrat” and Bush the Republican have views in common about health care.  And it further seems that when Jones touts his health care experience and his plans for health care, this is the sort of thing he has in mind.  So maybe Jones’s support of Republican Bush makes perfect sense — a fellow traveler.

So, is Jones a progressive — a progressive who supports Republicans and who wants “efficient” health care at the expense of workers and patients, who supports an industry that is threatening our health and our planet?  That would be a very strange sort of progressive indeed.

Jones is not who he and his supporters say that he is.

Coda

Of course, those who have been following my articles in the Davisite on Eric Jones’s VC background, VC and tech executive donors, and VC Super PAC funders (here, here, and here) shouldn’t be too surprised by any of this, although I have to admit that seeing it all laid out has me a bit rattled.  It’s one thing to strongly suspect; it’s another to start to amass even more evidence that supports your suspicions. 

But just to update those previous stories: Jones’s donations to his own campaign now exceed $5 million and the ad buys from the New Leadership Now Super PAC are verging on $1.7 million, with new donations promising many more dollars spent in the future.

Contributions to Jones’s campaign, including his (“candidate”) contributions exceeding $5 million. Source: https://www.fec.gov/data/candidate/H6CA04222/
Ad purchases by the New Leadership Now Super PAC in support of Jones and opposing Thompson as of May 23, 2026. By my calculation, the numbers in the right-hand column add to $1,686,870. Source: https://www.fec.gov/data/independent-expenditures/?two_year_transaction_period=2026&data_type=efiling&committee_id=C00900993&is_notice=true&most_recent=true

Finally, here are two other articles I recently learned about and recommend highly:

[1] And in case this weren’t bad enough, Jones is now supporting federal regulation of AI over state regulation: “..the industry needs clear, predictable, and accurate federal rules. The current vacuum of federal action is creating exactly the kind of uncertainty that makes long-term investment harder, not easier. A patchwork of 50 state regulations is not a favorable operating environment for anyone building at scale.”

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13 responses to “Is Eric Jones really a progressive? His donation to a Bush family Republican says otherwise”

  1. Elisabeth Robbins

    We need to get beyond political stereotypes and profiling. Most of us are struggling working people; maybe 3% are the oligarchs with money and power to misuse government and business for their own personal advantage. But let’s not assume every Republican or rich person is automatically guilty of evil intent. Maybe there is one well intended Republican candidate in Maine and one Northern California venture capitalist worth our vote.

    Following the link in the above article shows that the charge that Maine Republican gubernatorial candidate Jonathan Bush wants to cut Medicaid comes not from anything Bush said, but is an opinion from another Maine Republican as part of the primary race there.

    Actually, it looks like this Bush is trying to do the good thing. He has developed software which became Athena Health, a way to facilitate improved and extended patient care rather. No evidence of wanting to cut Medicaid. He’s trying to cut bureaucracy and confused billing so we get more hands-on patient care for our dollar.

    At a meeting with voters last week in Woodland, Eric Jones highlighted Bush’s company as one of the places he invested in, as he discussed his own strong commitment to improved health care and advocacy of Medicare for All.

    Jones’s campaign is an effort to unite Democrats and Republicans on common affordability issues we all share, like food production and viable agriculture, clean power and reduced dependence on foreign energy, and good medical care at affordable pries. He is part of a national movement to shift the electorate away from Democrats fighting Republicans while the elites run everything, and replace it with a coalition of The People standing up to the oligarchs.

    I believe this young man’s grasp of the real issues facing us and the solutions he advocates makes him better suited to provide the fresh ideas and leadership our District needs, rather than an 80-year old who has had his opportunity to make his mark, but too often stayed on the back bench. Let’s give the new man a chance and see what he can do.

    Reply
    1. Roberta Millstein

      I don’t know what Republican party you are talking about, but the Republican party of 2026 votes in lockstep, allowing Donald Trump to do what he wants: usurp the role of Congress, wage a pointless, expensive, and harmful war in Iran, waste taxpayer money on outrageously expensive monuments to himself, etc. And that extends to governors too, who have let him walk into their states with violent ICE thugs and who have allowed him to interfere with voting. The few — very few — Republicans who have stood up to Trump have been voted out by loyal MAGAs, as Massie just was, or have been forced out or marginalized in other ways. Everything Trump does is enabled by other members of the party and by MAGA voters. The party is sick and broken, and anyone who supports it right now is feeding that sick beast. If Jones can’t see that, then that’s just more reason that he isn’t qualified. The Democratic party is far from perfect, but it’s the party that is still clinging to some semblance of decency and democracy.

      Reply
      1. Elisabeth Robbins

        I agree with everything you say about the Republican party elected representatives, and I agree that only our Democratic representatives cling to some semblance of decency and democracy.

        But what our elected Democratic representatives have done is not enough. Elected Dems fall under the influence of money and power too. And when they get in power they do too little to change systems when they themselves receive the benefits of power and benefits the financial elites can bestow on them.
        Why are so many independent and irregular voters so down on the Democratic Party? Because they do not see its elected officials fighting for meaningful change. Neither party represents us everyday working/retired people.

        In the US, the rich have always encouraged everyday people to fight among themselves. Now it is Rep vs. Dem. Before that it was white vs. Black, native born vs. immigrant, Native American vs. colonialist. They throw us wedge issues to distract us while they collude across parties to control the financial, political, industrial, and technological systems that enrich themselves at our expense.

        Our incumbent MC represents the current power structure. PG&E gives him millions, for example, and he supports their rate increases. They team up and we suffer the consequences. The result is a broken two party system. Maybe Eric Jones is all talk and no action, But he is at least talking about real change, uniting working people of both parties behind kitchen table issues to oppose the monied clique that is destroying democracy.

        If he fails us, let’s kick him out in two years and look for someone better. But we need an MC who truly represents CA District 3 and not Wall Street, Silicon Valley, DC lobbyists, or their own personal interests.

      2. Roberta Millstein

        Elisabeth, similarly, I am in agreement with your criticisms of the Dem party. It’s Eric Jones we disagree about.

        You say, “In the US, the rich have always encouraged everyday people to fight among themselves.” Yes, and Eric Jones is quite wealthy. In addition to his two multi-million dollar houses, one in an expensive neighborhood in SF and one in Napa, he has so far poured $5 million into his campaign, as I showed above.

        You say, “Now it is Rep vs. Dem.” And when the Republican party has sunk as low as it has, there really isn’t any joining with them. Any joining with them just gives them more power. Whenever the Dems have tried to give a little, the Repubs just take that and ask for more, e.g., with the budget battles. For right now, opposition to the Republican party is the only reasonable option. (I agree about the other wedge issues).

        You say, “But he is at least talking about real change, uniting working people of both parties behind kitchen table issues to oppose the monied clique that is destroying democracy” — at the same time that he is being backed by that exact monied clique who have made both maximized individual donations as well as funded the Super PAC that has spent more than $1.8 million on ads for him? We’re supposed to think these are all the “good” venture capitalists and tech execs, and all the others are the “bad” ones? That doesn’t pass the sniff test. They aren’t supporting him for no reason, and the AI connection I describe above is, I believe, just one piece of that puzzle.

        You say, “But we need an MC who truly represents CA District 3 and not Wall Street, Silicon Valley, DC lobbyists, or their own personal interests.” You mean District 4. But Eric Jones *is* Silicon Valley. He was a VC there for over 12 years. And again, his donors are all Silicon Valley VCs and tech execs. There is no reason to believe that he represents citizens and not those wealthy donors. “Talk” of real change is cheap.

        It’s not so easy to kick out someone who has this much money behind them, and right now things are way too fragile in the House, especially since the SCOTUS Voting Rights Act decision, which makes it much harder to retake the House. We cannot afford to put a risky unknown as our representative and hope for the best. Thompson may not be perfect, but he won’t go Fetterman on us. Eric may very well do so, especially with respect to Silicon Valley interests.

      3. Roberta Millstein

        “Renewable energy requirements go out the door, into the shredder. Wind and solar subsidies go into the shredder… This entire environmental virtue signaling on working people’s expense must go.”” ⬅️⬅️ Does this sound like a progressive to you? This is Jonathan Bush’s statement — the same Bush that Eric Jones, Congressional candidate for CA-4, gave the maximum donation to for Bush’s run for governor as a Republican in Maine.

    2. Roberta Millstein

      And funny that his most recent mailer has quotes from Bernie Sanders, Ro Khanna, and the Sac Bee — even though none of them has actually endorsed him! — to try to make himself look like a progressive. If he’s so proud of his Republican creds, where is the quote from Jonathan Bush? Or GW Bush, for that matter? He is being extremely deceptive about who he is, which should bother everyone.

      Reply
    3. Sue Greenwald

      Elisabeth, could you please explain further? Are you saying that Eric Jones made a maxxed-out contribution to Jonathan Bush, an establishment Republican candidate, becauce Jones, as a venture capitalist, invested in Bush’s private health care company? That makes no sense to me. What kind of a reason is that for a so-called progressive candidate to make a huge personal campaign contribution to a potentially very powerful mainstream Republican candidate, who will be running against a progressive Democrat for governor in the upcoming general election?

      How did Eric Jones explain this at the event you attended?

      Reply
    4. Sue Greenwald

      You wrote that there’s “No evidence of (Bush) wanting to cut Medicaid”. That’s dead wrong. I’ve listened to a number of Bush’s interviews and debates. He most definitely wants to kick Maine citizens out of Maine’s Medicaid.

      For example, here is Bush in his own words calling the Maine Democratic Party’s expansion of Maine’s Medicaid the single most ridiculous example of over-spending. Shrinking Maine’s Medicaid (called Mainecare) is one of Jonathan Bush’s favorite topics.

      Who’s giving you these excuses for Eric Jones’ support of Bush?

      https://x.com/kdonohoenh/status/2051818114568860149

      Reply
  2. Ron O

    A couple months ago, Don Shor asked a very pointed question regarding this candidate: That is, what is his position regarding California Forever?

    Whenever a previously-unknown candidate suddenly arises with significant funding, the ONLY thing I ask is what do those interests want? And in this case, it is not clear.

    I hope that voters aren’t stupid-enough to vote for someone just because a candidate is younger.

    Reply
    1. Roberta Millstein

      I have heard a number of people say that they are voting for him because he is young. Some also say they liked hearing him talk in person. As though a young smooth talker who says what you want to hear (because he’s used his VC money to fun research on that very subject and can say whatever he wants without having a track record to constrain him) should be the most important qualifications.

      One thing that VC and high tech execs don’t want is any restrictions on AI. Lo and behold, as I explain in the article, Jones is against state restrictions on AI, wanting federal restrictions instead. Even Marjorie Taylor Greene thought that was a terrible idea, given that right now federal restrictions on AI amount to basically nothing. We will all be paying the price in high cost data centers (raising our energy costs), water use, and poor AI “decision” making.

      Reply
    2. Sue Greenwald

      Don Shore is absolutely right. Although Jones hasn’t come out on California Forever, he has come out on his website supporting Trump’s agenda to disallow California from passing our own AI regulations. California currently has stricter AI regulations than congress could ever pass. This is a key objective of the most anti-regulation faction of the AI industry. Apparently Jones thinks he can spin this one and the voters will overlook it. This one agenda item alone can explain why the big tech and the venture capital firms have poured so much money into Jones’ campaign. There are obviously others. This is part of a nationwide attempt by the IA industry to take over congressional districts, as explained in a very recent Nation article.

      https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/crypto-ai-super-pacs-election-spending-big-tech-dark-money-2026/

      Reply
  3. Who is Eric Jones, the candidate seeking to unseat Mike Thompson in Congress? – Davisite

    […] Casting doubt on the claim that Jones is a progressive, given his maximized donation to Republican Jonathan Bush, cousin of GW Bush, who is running for governor in Maine, with problematic views on health care, AI, and the environment (views that Jones seems to share. (link here)]. […]

    Reply
  4. Who is Eric Jones?  A summary of the series with a quick wrap-up. – Davisite

    […] The extremely unlikely claim that Jones is a progressive, given his maximized donation to Republican Jonathan Bush, cousin of GW Bush, who is running for governor in Maine, with problematic views on health care, AI, and the environment — views that Jones seems to share. (link here). […]

    Reply

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