Tom McClintock

The final hours of the 4th Congressional District brought a fresh round of charges, as state Sen. Tom McClintock's (R-Thousand Oaks) campaign suggested that opponent Charlie Brown's campaign was engaged in voter suppression through phone calls.

In a campaign press release, McClintock's campaign made note of a Sacramento Bee story Monday where a Granite Bay couple said they'd received a call over the weekend that discouraged them from casting votes Tuesday.

On paper, the 4th Congressional District shouldn't have a toss-up race this November.

Republicans lead in registration by nearly 15 points. The party's candidate, state Sen. Tom McClintock (R-Thousand Oaks), is one of the best-known conservative voices in the state. And Democrat Charlie Brown took a shot against a scandal-riddled incumbent two years ago and still lost.

Still, toss-up is how two political reports, Cook and Rothenberg, are rating the race these days. Brown, though, takes it a step further, saying the race shouldn't be a toss-up at all.

Another report on hot political races around the country has bumped the 4th Congressional District race into the "toss-up" category.

The Rothenberg Political Report switched the race to replace retiring U.S. Rep. John Doolittle (R-Roseville) to a toss-up on Sunday morning.

A planned protest outside Tom McClintock's congressional campaign office failed to materialize Friday morning, with no explanation as to why.

Thursday night, the group California Young Democrats sent an e-mail to media that said the group would protest outside the McClintock's Roseville campaign headquarters at 10 a.m. Friday over his comments earlier this week on why he supported Proposition 8.

The campaigns for congressional candidates Tom McClintock and Charlie Brown each had their own reaction to the latest round of fundraising numbers, with each making a highlight of where each candidate did better.

In a press release, Brown, a Democrat from Roseville, made note of both the $540,000 he raised in the last fundraising period and the $450,000 he had in cash on hand as of Sept. 30.

State Sen. Tom McClintock's congressional campaign said opponent Charlie Brown's new campaign mail piece uses media photos without the media outlets' permission.

The campaign for McClintock (R-Thousand Oaks) said Brown's mailer features photos of McClintock taken by the Sacramento Bee and The Associated Press without permission from those media outlets.

State Sen. Tom McClintock's congressional campaign again criticized opponent Charlie Brown over his campaign contributions from embattled U.S. Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-New York) and noted that U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco), who has also contributed to Brown's campaign, is facing questions about her own campaign fundraising.

The campaign criticized Brown, a Roseville Democrat, for staying silent about both fellow Democrats while making ethics a centerpiece of his previous campaign for the 4th Congressional District in 2006.

OROVILLE - State Sen. Tom McClintock (R-Thousand Oaks) and Roseville Democrat Charlie Brown had plenty of areas of disagreement - and even a few where they didn't - in a League of Women Voters forum Thursday night.

The men competing to replace U.S. Rep. John Doolittle (R-Roseville) in the 4th Congressional District painted largely unwavering positions, with McClintock as a small government, more freedom advocate and Brown as the career military officer with an outsider perspective on governance.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- Former Republican presidential contender Fred Thompson talks about the need for fiscally smart politicians in a new radio ad for would-be congressman Tom McClintock. The 60-second ad, airing in the 4th Congressional District, touches on the current economic crisis and proposed bailout, with Thompson saying McClintock's experience is needed.

Congressional opponents Tom McClintock and Charlie Brown squared off in a debate of sorts Thursday, when Brown called into a Sacramento radio show where McClintock, a Republican state senator from Thousand Oaks, was a guest.

Show host Eric Hogue acted as an impromptu moderator for the 20-minute "debate" in which the two 4th Congressional District candidates sparred on issues both personal and political.