Tom McClintock

State Sen. Tom McClintockCalifornia State Sen. Tom McClintock will make two public appearances over the Independence Day weekend, including one that could bring him face to face with Charlie Brown, his opponent in the 4th Congressional District race.

McClintock (R-Thousand Oaks) will participate in a Fourth of July parade Friday morning in Lincoln, where Brown, a Democrat from Roseville, is also scheduled to appear.

On Sunday, McClintock will attend a Fourth of July parade in Graeagle, in Plumas County.

Congressional Candidate Charlie Brown: Campaign photoCongressional candidate Charlie Brown has released a three-day slate of activities related to the Independence Day weekend, while criticizing Republican opponent Tom McClintock for not doing the same.

Brown, a Democrat running in California's 4th Congressional District, will visit six different cities in the district, which stretches over a few hundred miles of northeastern California.

Congressional seat seeker Charlie Brown has come out in favor of last week's Supreme Court decision over the 2nd Amendment, saying responsible gun ownership lies with the individual.

"I have always believed that the (2nd) Amendment guarantees an individual right to keep and bear arms, and applaud the Supreme Court's decision to recognize and uphold this important constitutional freedom," Brown wrote in a press release.

Congressional Candidate Charlie Brown: Campaign photoThe campaign for 4th Congressional District candidate Charlie Brown called Friday on Republican opponent and State Sen. Tom McClintock to definitively say whether his campaign is working with U.S. Rep. John Doolittle, who both men are trying to replace.

In a press release, Todd Stenhouse, a campaign spokesman for Brown, a Roseville Democrat, called on McClintock to clarify the situation after several contradictory statements on the issue over the last two weeks.

Congressional candidate Charlie BrownVoter registration figures be darned, the Democratic contender in California's 4th Congressional District believes the race there is winnable.

Political winds blowing toward Democrats in 2008 notwithstanding, the Republican contender is equally bullish on his chances.

Democrat Charlie Brown and Republican state Sen. Tom McClintock, both looking to replace retiring U.S. Rep. John Doolittle (R-Roseville), are aiming sights at each other with the general election still months away.

Congressional candidate Charlie BrownCongressional candidate Charlie Brown blasted opponent Tom McClintock Thursday for associating with scandal-plagued and outgoing U.S. Rep. John Doolittle.

In a press release, Brown said McClintock was making a poor choice by associating with Doolittle, who represents the 4th Congressional District in California that Brown, a Democrat, is trying for in November.

U.S. Rep. John DoolittleU.S. Rep. John Doolittle’s final six months in office provide something of a sad bookend to a career of a man who was once considered a hero among California conservatives and a rising star within the Republican Party.

In a state that is largely dominated by the Democratic Party, Doolittle rose from the state senate to the U.S. House of Representatives, where he would eventually become House Conference secretary, the sixth-highest ranking position in the chamber.

“He was the golden boy for so long in a state that was Democratic,” said Barbara O’ Connor, a professor of political communications at California State University at Sacramento. “He was able to beat the odds.”

John Doolittle, the retiring congressman who is under investigation for his ties to jailed lobbyist Jack Abramoff, appears likely to campaign for state Sen. Tom McClintock, the Republican nominee for Doolittle’s Roseville-area seat.

“We’re talking about doing a couple of events and we’re putting them together,” said Doolittle spokesman Dan Blankeburg. Blankeburg declined to provide any further details, adding that the two sides had only talked in what he called “conceptual terms.”

McClintock is fresh off a victory in the June 3 Republican primary against Doug Ose, a former U.S. congressman. Doolittle declined to endorse in the race, saying he liked both candidates. Doolittle had supported Rico Oller, a former member of the state senate and state assembly, before Oller withdrew from the race in March.

Stan Devereux, a spokesman for McClintock, confirmed that the campaign had set up a meeting to discuss Doolittle’s support for McClintock.

In the end, state Sen. Tom McClintock’s victory over Doug Ose in the Republican primary for the seat of retiring U.S. Rep. John Doolittle had as much to with the realities of the 4th Congressional District as the candidates themselves.

The conservative tilt of the district, which gave George W. Bush 61 percent of the vote in 2004 and supported the 2003 recall of Gray Davis by a margin of 70 percent to 30 percent, made it a natural fit for McClintock, a veteran state legislator who is widely considered to be something of an icon in right-leaning circles. The tendency for party die-hards and activists to turn out in Republican primaries made the task that much more difficult for Ose, who is widely perceived as a moderate.

“It was an uphill climb the day he got in,” said Richard Temple, Ose’s chief political adviser, referring to McClintock’s March entrance into the race. “Most candidates didn’t want to take on that challenge. Ose did.”

Republican congressional candidate Tom McClintockThe Club for Growth, the independent conservative organization that advocates low taxes and limited government spending, is crowing over the primary victory of U.S. House candidate Tom McClintock.

With McClintock opponent Doug Ose investing nearly $3 million of his own personal wealth to blast McClintock, the club helped to fill a significant spending void for McClintock, who was relying on contributions to power his bid. The club bundled $200,000 for McClintock’s effort and ran $100,000 worth of television ads on his behalf.

“The Club for Growth PAC is proud to have supported conservative stalwart Tom McClintock. We are confident he will win his general election race in November and will be a conservative star in the United States Congress just as he was in the California Legislature,” said the club in a statement following McClintock’s Tuesday victory.