Doolittle faces primary fight

7.31.07

As Eric Egland declares he is in the GOP race, incumbent's aide says competitors welcome

By David Whitney - Bee Washington Bureau

The chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee discussed the challenges clouding Rep. John Doolittle's political future Monday as yet another one materialized -- the announcement by Roseville Republican Eric Egland that he will run in the 2008 primary for the beleaguered congressman's seat.

Egland is the first to flatly declare for the Republican primary. Auburn City Councilman Mike Holmes also is exploring a primary run for Doolittle's seat, and he said Monday he is moving closer to entering the race.

Doolittle's campaign consultant, Richard Temple, said the congressman is not worried, and welcomed the competition.

"In this case, the more candidates the better," said Temple. He said that because the congressman has a strong base of support, multiple opponents will only divide the disenchanted.

"Neither of them can beat him," Temple said.

Doolittle, under federal investigation as part of the ongoing political corruption scandal involving imprisoned Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff, has said he is running for a 10th term next year.

But in a telephone news conference Monday, NRCC Chairman Rep. Tom Cole, R-Okla., indicated that the political ground has a way of shifting.

"There's a factor outside of normal politics that needs to be resolved," Cole said. "We're keeping a close eye on the situation. We hope it resolves itself. We hope it turns out OK for John."

Cole said he thinks Doolittle will decide later this year what he is going to do.

"But it sure would be helpful to him and to us if a 3-year-old investigation was brought to a conclusion one way or the other," he said. "I am concerned as much with John's situation as a friend and colleague as I am with that seat as a political prognosticator."

The NRCC is the political arm of the Republican caucus that lines up candidates for House races, gives them advice on how to run campaigns and raises money to help them win office.

Last November, Doolittle won by a slim three-percentage-point margin over Democrat Charlie Brown in a heavily Republican district Doolittle previously had dominated. Brown is expected to run again for the Democratic nomination and in the last three months raised nearly $200,000 for the race, almost twice as much as the Doolittle campaign.

Doolittle's fundraising has fallen since Friday, April 13 when the FBI, armed with a warrant, searched his Oakton, Va., home. His wife, Julie, uses the residence as the office for her bookkeeping and fundraising business, Sierra Dominion Financial Solutions.

Doolittle said after the raid that federal prosecutors think that Abramoff paid Julie Doolittle's company for work it never performed as a way to funnel money to the congressman for help he gave the lobbyist's clients. Doolittle has insisted that neither he nor his wife has done anything wrong.

Egland, 37, a security consultant and intelligence officer with the Air Force Reserve, last year campaigned with Doolittle against Brown because of the Roseville Democrat's position on the Iraq war, which Egland supports unwaveringly.

Egland said Monday he believes Doolittle cannot win if there is another matchup between the congressman and Brown.

"If John Doolittle is the nominee, we will surrender our conservative voice in Washington, D.C., for a generation," Egland said in an interview.

In a prepared statement, he said that "change is needed in Washington and the district."
"I have seen firsthand how failures in congressional ethics and leadership have corrupted our government and made our troops, our economy and our nation more vulnerable," he said.

Egland has no political experience. He plans to file papers with the Federal Election Commission this week that will entitle him to begin fundraising.

The Doolittle campaign issued a statement from Republican officials from three counties and state Sen. Sam Aanestad pledging their support for the congressman.

Holmes, who lost to Doolittle in the 2006 Republican primary, 67 percent to 33 percent, said Egland is a political novice whose only issue is support of the Iraq war.

"I've met Eric Egland on several occasions," Holmes said. "I have listened to his current campaign to assist our fighting forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. I think Eric is more of a one-issue candidate and needs to develop a broader background in the issues of real concern to the voters of the 4th Congressional District."

The NRCC does not make endorsements in Republican primaries, and so Cole would not comment on Egland or Holmes.

But Cole said he was confident the seat would be in Republican hands after next year's elections.

"It's probably the most Republican seat in California, so we will wait and see how the situation with John resolves itself," he said. "I think he will make his decision accordingly, and so will the people there."