McCloskey Closer to Entering Race

This is just a quick update on the possible Republican challenge to Richard Pombo. Former Congressman Pete McCloskey has been actively recruiting Mark Connolly, a Republican lawyer from Tracy, to run against Pombo in the June primary. But yesterday,Lisa Vorderbrueggen of the Contra Costa Times broke the story that Connolly, who has seemed reluctant to enter the fray, finally made the decision that he will not run because he feels that his pet project, Measure A to limit growth in Tracy, will be coming under fire in the near future and he wants to be able to devote his full time and energy to defending the initiative.

This leaves McCloskey without a Republican candidate willing to face Pombo. McCloskey has repeatedly said that if he can’t find a satisfactory candidate, he will run himself. With Connolly bowing out, McCloskey has extended his search window to the end of January. But the fact that he is now house-shopping in Lodi suggests that McCloskey is seriously preparing to make the run himself.

Nick Juliano has a follow-up piece posted in today's Tracy Press.

Tags: CA-11, Richard Pombo, Pete McCloskey