November 19, 2007
Is It Doolittle's Turn?
This could be the best news the House GOP has gotten since Rep. Barbara Cubin (R-WY) decided to retire. According to Hank Shaw's blog at the Stockton Record, it "appears" that Rep. John Doolittle (R-CA) "is about to" announce his retirement and will "ultimately endorse" state Sen. Rico Oller (R) to be his successor.
That would be very welcome news to a party that has struggled in their new minority. The GOP has had difficulty convincing incumbents in marginal CDs to run again, and decisions by Reps. Jim Ramstad (R-MN), Jim Saxton (R-NJ) and Jerry Weller (R-IL) have put solidly GOP seats into play. And today's news that Rep. Mike Ferguson (R-NJ) will step down in '08 put another open seat on the map.
But Cubin's retirement, along with that of Rep. Rick Renzi's (R-AZ), was perhaps welcome news to the GOP. Those seats, and Doolittle's as well, would be easier to keep with decent GOP recruits heading the ticket.
Oller ran against Dan Lungren (R-CA 03) in that CD's open seat primary in '04, but lost by fewer than 3K votes. According to Shaw, he owns property in the CD.
If Doolittle does retire and Oller runs, he'll face '06 candidate Mike Holmes (R), Iraq war vet Eric Egland (R) and possibly Assemb. Ted Gaines (R) in the primary. The GOPer that emerges from that primary would be heavily favored against '06 nominee Charlie Brown (D), who came extremely close to knocking off the scandal-tarred Doolittle in '06. [TIM SAHD]
Posted at 08:47 PM
Comments
I think its wise for Doolittle to step down too preserve the republican hold on the seat. There are many strong candidates in line, including Eric Egland, with a vision for the future. This is very exciting news. I have renewed faith in the district.
Mike | 11.20.07 05:53 PM
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