Ose to face Oller

The race to replace scandal-tainted District 4 Rep. John Doolittle when he retires at the end of the year got more interesting Friday (Feb. 1), when former 3rd District Rep. Doug Ose announced he was entering the race.

His chief opponent in the June Republican primary will be former state Sen. Rico Oller. Of the two, Oller is the more conservative, while Ose is considered a moderate. The two men haven’t gotten along since 2004, when Ose retired and Oller ran against his sister, Mary Ose, to replace him. Rep. Dan Lungren eventually won that race, and Friday he strongly endorsed Ose.

Oller has received the backing of several state legislators, including local Assemblyman Rick Keene and Sen. Sam Aanestad.

Whoever wins the Republican primary is likely to face Democrat Charlie Brown, of Roseville, in November. Brown narrowly lost to Doolittle in 2006 and reportedly has banked nearly $500,000 for his campaign. The district, which includes the Oroville area, is heavily Republican.