The sprawling Fourth Congressional District in North Eastern California (well, Doug LaMalfa would probably call is South Eastern) east of Sacramento has been in the news a lot because of the controversies with John Doolittle that have been the source of much fodder by the press. Doolittle’s recent decision to retire has created an "open" seat that is overwhelmingly Republican.
As we’ve written about before, former state legislator and conservative Rico Oller has put his hat into the ring, and is running hard. The only other significant candidate who has been running is Eric Egland, a military veteran who starts out at a big disadvantage to the well known and well liked Oller. We keep hearing that former moderate GOP Congressman Doug Ose may jump into this primary, but he hasn’t made any such announcement yet.
For the last few months, popular local Assemblyman Ted Gaines had been making active noises about running for the House seat (perhaps even if Doolittle was still in). Shortly after Doolittle announced his retirement, and Oller announced his candidacy, Gaines issued a statement that he was not going to run for Congress, and would instead seek re-election to the Assembly.
Well, Gaines has now officially endorsed Rico Oller for the House seat. We caught up with Gaines, and this is what he had to say:
As a small business owner myself, I appreciate the experience that Rico Oller, who also owns his own business, will bring to the United States Congress. Since small business create most of the new jobs in America, its critical that we make sure that government regulation be reduced so businesses can prosper and jobs can be created. Rico Oller has that experience in his own small business, and I belive he’ll put that experience to work for hard working California families. Furthermore, I’m confident that Rico will do all he can to stop the out of control pork-barrel Democrat spending addiction and fight to secure our pourous borders.
As a family man myself with 6 children, I know that Rico will represent our interests in keeping America’s families strong. The 4th Congressional District is truly a conservative district, and for me, Rico Oller fits that perfectly. Rico served the vast majority of the 4th Congressional District in the Senate and Assembly, and he knows the district like the back of his hand. He has a proven conservative track record in Sacramento serving in the state legislature, and he’ll continue that in DC.
As the Assemblyman for much of the 4th Congressional District, I look forward to working with him over the next few years to serve our constituents effectively and fight for conservative values in the Legislature.
This is an important endorsement in this district. Congratulations, Rico!
P.S. Oller’s now got a campaign website up and running: www.ricooller2008.com.