January 30, 2008

Ose to seek Doolittle seat

Former Rep. Doug Ose will officially launch his bid to return to Congress this Friday, hoping to fill the House seat vacated by Rep. John Doolittle.

Ose, a Republican who served three terms in Congress in a neighboring district, will make his announcement on the steps of the Placer County Courthouse in Auburn on Friday, according to an e-mailed announcement obtained by Capitol Alert.

The move sets up a showdown with former state Sen. Rico Oller, a conservative Republican who announced his plans to seek Doolittle's seat earlier this month.

Ose's campaign declined to comment on or to confirm Friday's event.

Republicans of River City, a Sacramento-based GOP group, sent an invitation to its membership late Wednesday morning inviting them to attend Friday’s event.

Carl Burton, president of the moderate Republican club, which passed a resolution earlier this month urging an Ose candidacy, said he learned of Friday’s campaign kickoff from Ose’s campaign team.

“I want to make sure that when (our members) go into work tomorrow morning that they know they need to ask to take off work Friday morning and attend the event, if at all possible,” Burton said.

Ose, known as a more moderate GOP member, will face off against Oller, who earned a reputation during his stint in Sacramento as a strong conservative. A third candidate, Air Force reservist and security consultant Eric Egland, who was featured in Doolittle’s reelection ads in 2006, also has announced his candidacy.

Rep. John Doolittle is leaving the congressional seat after nine terms in office, following growing unease among Republicans, both in and out of the district, that an ongoing FBI investigation into Doolittle’s ties to disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff weakened his chances of reelection.

Earlier this month, Doolittle announced his decision "to complete my term and ... retire."

Whoever wins the GOP nomination will face the presumptive Democratic nominee, retired Air Force Lt. Col. Charlie Brown, whom Doolittle narrowly beat in 2006 in the heavily Republican district.

Brown essentially started his 2008 campaign the day after the 2006 race ended. On Wednesday, he announced he raised $200,000 in the fourth quarter of 2007 and reported having $483,000 cash on hand at the end of the year.

Posted by Shane Goldmacher on January 30, 2008 1:56 PM