Tom McClintock (R-Thousand Oaks), the conservative firebrand state senator who is seeking a seat in the U.S. House, is set to launch his first radio advertisement of the general election campaign.

"Liberals like Nancy Pelosi and Charlie Brown want to continue supporting federal laws that prevents us from tapping America's vast oil resources. That's how we got into this mess -and why gasoline prices are now breaking our family budgets," McClintock says at the beginning of the one-minute spot.

"America has nearly a trillion barrels of recoverable oil-more than three times that of Saudi Arabia-that Democrats like Nancy Pelosi and Charlie Brown won't even let us touch. In fact, more than 94 percent of our territory remains off-limits because of this foolish prohibition. If we want to change this policy, we've got to change this Congress," McClintock says.

A McClintock spokesman said the ad buy was sizable. The spot will be airing throughout the Roseville-area district.

The Republican is facing off against Democrat Charlie Brown, a former Air Force officer who narrowly lost a 2006 battle for the seat against beleaguered U.S. Rep. John Doolittle (R-Glendale).

McClintock is coming off a hard-fought primary victory over former U.S. Rep. Doug Ose. Since then McClintock has come under attack for having previously filed statements of intent to run for the state Board of Equalization and lieutenant governor in 2010. McClintock has also been targeted for waffling on questions of whether he would campaign with the retiring Doolittle, who is under federal investigation for his ties to jailed lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

But McClintock remains the favorite to retain the seat, which resides in a heavily conservative district that supported George Bush with 59 percent and 61 percent of the vote in 2000 and 2004, respectively. The Cook Political Report, a nonpartisan Washington tip sheet, currently lists the race in the "likely Republican" category.