Costa will vie for the newly-formed 16th Congressional District. As of Thursday evening, three other people were listed as candidates for the 16th Congressional District seat, including Dr. Loraine Goodwin, businessman Johnny Tacherra, and attorney Brian Whelan.
Costa touched on a number of issues during Thursday's announcement. He told CBS47 that water and jobs continue to be two of his top priorities.
"I think we're coming back. More needs to be done. But we've seen the jobless rate continue to decline. We see continued growth in the economy," said Costa.
The new 16th Congressional District covers Merced County and portions of Madera and Fresno counties. The area is well-known to Costa, whose political career spans more than 30 years.
CBS47 Political Analyst Don Larson expects Costa to easily win this fall, especially since fellow Congressman Dennis Cardoza, Fresno City Councilman Clint Olivier, and former Fresno Mayor Jim Patterson have all decided not to challenge him.
"I think Jim Costa would be considered at this point an overwhelming favorite. The other 3 people running in this race are relatively unknown people," said Larson.
Challenger Brian Whelan says don't count him out.
Although he's a political newcomer, Whelan says he's more in touch with valley voters. The Fresno County native has served as an agri-business lawyer for four years. He says voters are tired of the current bickering in Washington, D.C. They want a fresh voice who's concerned about future generations, Whelan said.
"Jim Costa is a career politician who is very concerned with the next election as opposed to the next generation," Whelan said.
Goodwin and Tacherra did not return our phone calls for comment.
Under the state's new "open primary" system, the top two voter-getters in June will advance to the general election in November no matter their party affiliation.