A couple of weeks ago, I noted that former Congressman Doug Ose had decided to run. Now it’s official…sort of. Ose is set to declare Friday in Auburn and has been seen at numerous events in the Roseville area over the past few weeks.
The Roundup carried the following report: "Meanwhile, Doug Ose has decided that the term limits pledge he upheld when he gave up his seat was not a lifetime one, meaning Rico won’t have an easy dance in the primary for John Doolittle’s seat."
A similar report ran in a Sacramento Bee story as well…
It looks like Ose has positioned himself well — he’s got $460,000 left in his Congressional campaign account; and two weeks ago, moderate Mike Holmes dropped out of the race. Holmes praised Ose in his statement to the press, leaving the impression he was clearing out in favor of Ose.
So it looks like another showdown between Ose and conservative former State Senator Rico Oller... but the X-factor might be Eric Egland – another conservative who could draw votes from Oller.
As noted in my previous post, Ose and Oller have clashed before and there’s little love lost between these two.
Ose – the consummate businessman, who is well liked and respected by business leaders and moderates; Oller, the rock-solid conservative, who is an icon to many area conservatives.
Both have big bucks and have shown that they will spend ’em.
Both have solid supporters in DC (Ose is former Chair of Mainstreet Partnership, Oller has the support of Club for Growth) and locally (Ose has reportedly been endorsed by all of the Placer County Supervisors, Oller has won the endorsement of Assemblyman Ted Gaines).
Oller’s effort will be directed largely by veteran Steve Presson…Ose’s team is reported to include former Doolittle chief Richard Robinson, Mcnally Temple Assoc., and some talented local people as well.
This could be a classic match-up…