She was a two-term Democratic state representative for Oregon and the president of the Portland Federation of Women's Clubs.

[2] Thomson grew up in a period when the movement for women's right to vote and hold public office was gaining traction.

[3] She supported the candidacy of Woodrow Wilson during the presidential election of 1912 and she became the first woman to be a member of the Democratic National Campaign Committee in United States history.

[4] In 1916, Thompson was elected to the state legislature, representing Hood River and Wasco counties.

[1] Thompson was the sponsor of the House Joint Resolution 1, which ratified the Nineteenth Amendment to the US Constitution, allowing woman suffrage.