John Doolittle

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.

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.

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.

The campaign for state Sen. Tom McClintock again called on congressional opponent Charlie Brown to return money Brown got from scandal-plagued U.S. Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-N.Y.).

In a press release from McClintock's (R-Thousand Oaks) campaign from Tuesday, it was noted that another Democratic congressional candidate, U.S. Rep. Dave Loebsack (D-Iowa), is returning money he received from Rangel.

Congressional candidate Tom McClintock has launched a new radio commercial that takes aim at opponent Charlie Brown for supporting a state budget proposal that includes higher taxes.

State Sen. McClintock (R-Thousand Oaks) states in the ad that Brown also supports a new federal energy tax that would cost $200 a year.

"Well, I've got a better idea. I think we've got a right to demand that our government does what our families do every day: work hard, waste not and live within our means," McClintock says in the commercial.

To view more cartoons by Politicker.com editorial cartoonist Rob Tornoe, click here.

A former legislative director to retiring U.S. Rep. John Doolittle (R-Roseville) has been indicted on public corruption charges, according to Roll Call.

Lobbyist Kevin Ring, who was on Doolittle's staff from 1993 to 1998, was formally charged Monday in Washington, D.C., with 10 counts of corruption relating to work he did as a colleague of convicted former lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

Congressional candidate Charlie Brown's campaign fired back at opponent state Sen. Tom McClintock this week, saying a campaign mailer McClintock sent to 4th Congressional District voters is "rife with fabrications."

Brown campaign manager Todd Stenhouse said the mailer, which compares McClintock's (R-Thousand Oaks) stances on issues to Roseville Democrat Brown's, is incorrect in several instances.