Tahoe Democrats mobilize to ‘fire’ McClintock
By Meghan Herbst, Moonshine Ink Staff
On Feb. 4, constituents of California’s 4th congressional district spilled into the streets of Roseville to attend a much-anticipated town hall with Rep. Tom McClintock. Growing discontent over the Republican’s ultra-conservative policy positions surged after he began vocalizing his support of the Trump administration.
McClintock drew ire from town hall attendees for fielding only 12 questions and then receiving a police escort out of the building instead of engaging with attendees, who he later called “anarchists” to regional news sources.
The next congressional election for District 4 is in November 2018, but the turbulent political atmosphere is inspiring local Democrats to mobilize earlier than ever, and prospective candidates are already building momentum.
District 4 encompasses 10 counties from the Sierra to Fresno, all of El Dorado County, and portions of Placer and Nevada counties and the town of Truckee. Historically in this region of eastern California, Republican representatives have enjoyed a solid hold over the constituency — 44 percent of the district’s voters are registered as Republican. In contrast, the town of Truckee has the largest percentage of Democratic voters in the district: 43 percent of voters are registered as Democrats, while 22 percent are registered Republican. Area Democrats are looking to wield a greater influence on the 4th District.
Six potential Democratic candidates are campaigning across the district: Regina Bateson, Roza Calderon, Rochelle Wilcox, Jessica Morse, Chris Drew, and Charles Brown, who mounted a campaign against McClintock in 2008 in an uncommonly close race.