State Sen. Tom McClintock, center, on Tuesday announced he would run for the 4th Congressional District seat. Supporters standing behind him are, from left, Auburn City Councilman Kevin Hanley, Yuba County Supervisor Dan Logue, former Congressional candidate Eric Egland and Nevada County Supervisor Sue Horne. Photo by Don Chaddock.
|
With one announcement on Tuesday on the steps of the historic Placer County Courthouse in Auburn, the field of Republican candidates for the 4th Congressional District race narrowed.
Rico Oller and Eric Egland dropped out of the race with the latter throwing his support behind newly announced candidate Tom McClintock.
McClintock is currently a state senator representing the 19th District which comprises portions of Los Angeles, Santa Barbara and Ventura counties.
The 4th Congressional District seat is being vacated by Rep. John T. Doolittle.
The winner of the Republican nomination in the June Primary election will most likely face Democrat Charlie Brown, a retired US Air Force lieutenant colonel, who narrowly lost to Doolittle in 2006. McClintock’s main opponent to secure the GOP nomination for the seat is Sacramento resident Doug Ose, the former congressman for District 3. Theodore Terbolizard, a Cedar Ridge resident, is still running.
Fourth Assembly District representative Ted Gaines said McClintock is an icon.
“He’s an individual (who’s been) engaged in politics for decades here in California,” he said. “He fits this district well.”
State Senator Sam Aanestad said he’s excited about McClintock agreeing to run for Congress.
“He’s been my seatmate in the Assembly and in the Senate for several years,” Aanestad said. “(I’ve watched him) trying to get Republicans to act like Republicans.”
Nevada County Supervisor Sue Horne said McClintock is “the most conservative Republican in the state.” A van parked nearby carried a banner which read “Termed Out Tom. Feathering his nest again all the way from L.A.”
McClintock acknowledged that he does not live in the area and still has southern California constituents to serve. If elected, he would be required to move to the 4th Congressional District. The senator is quick to point out that he was a resident of Rocklin for three years.
“The people of these communities already know me very well,” he said. “Seven times I have appeared on the ballot here and seven time the people of this district have responded with overwhelming margins of support.”
He said he wants to return to Ronald Reagan’s vision for America.
“It is true that we had a Republican Congress and a Republican president and they squandered Reagan’s legacy,” he said. “They abandoned our Republican principles. I want to return to them.”
 |
Subscribe to this comment's feed