From the city of Sacramento to the rolling Sierra foothills, voters in the region signaled Tuesday that they are unhappy with the way things have been going. They want change.
A prime example was the hotly contested Republican primary in the 4th Congressional District to decide who will compete in the general election for the open congressional seat being vacated by retiring Rep. John Doolittle, R-Roseville.
In that race, state Sen. Tom McClintock of Thousand Oaks handily defeated former Rep. Doug Ose of Granite Bay, 54 percent to 39 percent. Here McClintock appeared as the agent of change – leaving behind the tainted, spendthrift congressional politics of the last decade. Ose had served in Congress from 1998 to 2004. McClintock won despite Ose spending $4.6 million (close to $3 million of his own money) – the second highest spending for a congressional primary in U.S. history.
McClintock sees this election "as a bellwether over the future direction of our party – and ultimately of our nation." A well-known ideological warrior, McClintock's consistent message has been one of limited government.
In the general election, McClintock faces Charlie Brown, the Democrat who came within 4 percentage points of unseating Doolittle in 2006. Brown has his own message of change: He sees this election as a choice "between a Southern California politician who wants control of the Republican Party, and a local leader who is taking action to unite all parties and solve problems for our country."
The question for voters in the general election now may boil down to which of the two candidates best represents change – McClintock, who has been in the California Legislature for two decades, or Brown, a retired career Air Force officer who has never held elective office.
In this heavily Republican district, McClintock will start with a big advantage. But as the recent special election in an equally Republican district in Mississippi showed, all bets are off this year.
In another closely watched race, incumbent Placer County Supervisor Bruce Kranz finished second in a three-way race in District 5. Sixty-three percent of voters voted against Kranz, a well-known Republican and Doolittle protégé.
Kranz came in behind a total political newcomer, Jennifer Montgomery, who is a Democrat. The third-place finisher was a moderate Republican whose views closely match Montgomery's. It's not clear which candidate will pick up those voters in the fall.
Montgomery, a small business owner who has been a volunteer firefighter and active in the Sierra Business Council, ran a grass-roots campaign and spent far less than Kranz. As Montgomery said, "One-on-one is important to people."
In that Placer district, the big issues for the fall will be growth, growth and growth. Voters will want to hear more about the proposed Forest Ranch development in Foresthill, Royal Gorge near Donner Summit and other developments. They'll want to hear about the services that accompany growth – fire protection, transportation, wastewater treatment, drinking water and more.
The winds of change clearly are blowing. The general election will tell which candidates have been able to harness them.
