John Doolittle - 2008 Re-election Campaign

2008 Re-election Campaign

Democrat Charlie Brown, a retired Lt. Colonel who lost to Doolittle in 2006 by only 3 percent of the vote, announced in February 2007 that he would run again in 2008. Brown outraised Doolittle in the first and second quarters of 2007; as of June 30, he had a net cash balance of $251,000; Doolittle had a negative balance of $32,000.

In August 2007, former Placer County Republican Party chairman Ken Campbell, a longtime financial backer of Doolittle, said he was withdrawing his support. Campbell cited a recent Club for Growth report on votes in 2007 on spending bills, where Doolittle scored 2 percent, compared to the Republican average of 43 percent.

In July 2007, Eric Egland, a 37-year-old Air Force reservist and security consultant, announced that he would seek the Republican nomination for the seat held by Doolittle. In August 2007, Auburn City Councilman Mike Holmes announced that he also was entering the 2008 race. Holmes ran unsuccessfully against Doolittle for the Republican nomination in 2006, getting 33 percent of the primary vote to 67 percent for Doolittle.

On August 30, 2007, State Assemblyman Ted Gaines announced the establishment of an exploratory committee to begin raising money to run for Congress against Doolittle, stating "I think voters have lost faith in his leadership ability...when you lose the moral ability to lead, you kind of have to re-evaluate."

Doolittle lashed back at Gaines, saying, "After spending the last month talking to local voters, I have seen strong support for my candidacy and a strong desire to focus on solving problems instead of plotting for political advantage...I will gladly place before the voters my record of over 30 years of service to the Republican Party to Ted Gaines' less than one year."

After much speculation, on January 10, 2008, John Doolittle announced he would finish his current term, and not run for re-election.

After Doolittle's retirement announcement, Councilman Holmes quit the race and instead endorsed former Republican Congressman Doug Ose, who announced on February 1, 2008 that he is running for Doolittle's seat. Ose faced opposition from former California State Senator Rico Oller (R-San Andreas), who announced his candidacy on January 10, 2008. When California State Senator Tom McClintock (R-Thousand Oaks) announced that he too was running for Doolittle's seat on March 4, 2008, Oller dropped out of the race, and decided to give his endorsement to McClintock. Although he didn't live in the district, McClintock beat Charlie Brown in the general election by only 1,800 votes.