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McClintock Wins GOP Nomination In Doolittle Seat

Conservative California state senator Tom McClintock handily defeated his free-spending primary opponent, former GOP Rep. Doug Ose, and will face retired Air Force Officer Charlie Brown (D) in the general election to succeed retiring Rep. John Doolittle (R-Calif.)

Despite facing nearly $3 million barrage in attack ads portraying him as a carpetbagging politician that lived outside the district, McClintock won by a 15 point margin – 54 to 39 percent.

McClintock is a well-known conservative icon throughout the state, and has been a vocal opponent of tax increases and wasteful government spending in the state legislature.

Brown held the scandal-plagued Doolittle to 49 percent of the vote in 2006, and his campaign just released internal polling showing him with a narrow lead over McClintock. But the northeastern California district is one of the most conservative in the state, giving President Bush 61 percent of the vote in 2004.

To the south, Rep. Duncan Duane Hunter (R-Calif.) is poised to succeed his father, retiring Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) in Congress after handily winning the GOP primary with 73 percent of the vote. He is the heavy favorite against Gulf War veteran Mike Lumpkin in the conservative San Diego-area district.

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