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ROSEVILLE — Tom McClintock declared himself the winner Monday of the hotly contested 4th District congressional race, but Charlie Brown’s campaign was still not giving in.
“The votes have been counted, the election is over,” GOP candidate McClintock said in a Roseville press conference. “There are another 200 votes to certify in El Dorado County and that’s it. It’s over.”
Brown’s campaign disagreed. “We have no plans to concede,” said Todd Stenhouse of Brown’s Democratic campaign. “That would be about the third time he has declared it. To my knowledge, they’re still counting, and we’ll have an announcement in the next few days.”
McClintock said he was sure of his victory and that all the counties in the district had certified the count, with the exception of El Dorado County’s 200 uncounted tallies.
The counties in the district have until today to finalize their counts, and the California Secretary of State’s office did not have a final counties tally late Monday. The office had McClintock leading by 1,576 votes with 184,543 tallies for 50.3 percent, to 182,967 tallies, or 49.7 percent, for Brown.
The state senator from Southern California said he won the election on two major fronts. The first was when he was victorious over Doug Ose in “a very brutal primary.”
The second reason was the 4th District did not get caught in the “liberal wave that lapped over America” in the Nov. 4 election. “You’ve been heard around the country,” McClintock said.
The district and the race have been under a national microscope since 2006, when current Congressman John Doolittle (R-Roseville) beat Brown by 9,000 votes in one of the nation’s most steadfast GOP districts.
Doolittle remains under investigation for his contacts to jailed lobbyist Jack Abramoff. When his wife’s office was raided by the FBI in connection with the investigation, matters became even tougher politically for Doolittle.
Last January, Doolittle announced he would not run for a 10th term in Congress but would not say his decision was connected to the Abramoff scandal. However, Nevada County Republican Central Committee Chairman Bill Neuharth said he suspected national GOP leaders had talked to Doolittle. All along, Doolittle has denied any wrongdoing.
Nevada County voted strongly for Brown, giving him 31,075 votes for 57.7 percent to McClintock’s 22,800 for 42.3 percent. Attorneys from both parties went to the Nevada County courthouse and others in the northeastern state district watching vote counts closely for almost one month.
The self-declared winner said he is looking for an apartment to rent in the Washington, D.C., area, and his wife is looking for their permanent home in the Roseville-Rocklin area. McClintock is from Southern California, though he has maintained a residence in the Sacramento area since becoming a state senator.
Federal law states that a congressional candidate does not have to live in the district in which he or she represents, but they do have to reside in the same state.
To contact Senior Staff Writer Dave Moller, e-mail dmoller@theunion.com or call 477-4237.
“The votes have been counted, the election is over,” GOP candidate McClintock said in a Roseville press conference. “There are another 200 votes to certify in El Dorado County and that’s it. It’s over.”
Brown’s campaign disagreed. “We have no plans to concede,” said Todd Stenhouse of Brown’s Democratic campaign. “That would be about the third time he has declared it. To my knowledge, they’re still counting, and we’ll have an announcement in the next few days.”
McClintock said he was sure of his victory and that all the counties in the district had certified the count, with the exception of El Dorado County’s 200 uncounted tallies.
The counties in the district have until today to finalize their counts, and the California Secretary of State’s office did not have a final counties tally late Monday. The office had McClintock leading by 1,576 votes with 184,543 tallies for 50.3 percent, to 182,967 tallies, or 49.7 percent, for Brown.
The state senator from Southern California said he won the election on two major fronts. The first was when he was victorious over Doug Ose in “a very brutal primary.”
The second reason was the 4th District did not get caught in the “liberal wave that lapped over America” in the Nov. 4 election. “You’ve been heard around the country,” McClintock said.
The district and the race have been under a national microscope since 2006, when current Congressman John Doolittle (R-Roseville) beat Brown by 9,000 votes in one of the nation’s most steadfast GOP districts.
Doolittle remains under investigation for his contacts to jailed lobbyist Jack Abramoff. When his wife’s office was raided by the FBI in connection with the investigation, matters became even tougher politically for Doolittle.
Last January, Doolittle announced he would not run for a 10th term in Congress but would not say his decision was connected to the Abramoff scandal. However, Nevada County Republican Central Committee Chairman Bill Neuharth said he suspected national GOP leaders had talked to Doolittle. All along, Doolittle has denied any wrongdoing.
Nevada County voted strongly for Brown, giving him 31,075 votes for 57.7 percent to McClintock’s 22,800 for 42.3 percent. Attorneys from both parties went to the Nevada County courthouse and others in the northeastern state district watching vote counts closely for almost one month.
The self-declared winner said he is looking for an apartment to rent in the Washington, D.C., area, and his wife is looking for their permanent home in the Roseville-Rocklin area. McClintock is from Southern California, though he has maintained a residence in the Sacramento area since becoming a state senator.
Federal law states that a congressional candidate does not have to live in the district in which he or she represents, but they do have to reside in the same state.
To contact Senior Staff Writer Dave Moller, e-mail dmoller@theunion.com or call 477-4237.
