Thomas Miller McClintock II (born July 10, 1956) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for California's 5th congressional district since 2009 (known as the 4th congressional district until 2023). His district stretches from the Sacramento suburbs to the outer suburbs of Fresno; it includes Yosemite National Park. A member of the Republican Party, McClintock served as a California state assemblyman from 1982 to 1992 and from 1996 to 2000, when he became a California state senator, a position he held until 2008. He unsuccessfully ran for governor of California in the 2003 recall election and for Lieutenant Governor of California in the 2006 election.
Early life, education and early political career
McClintock was born on July 10, 1956, in Westchester County, New York. His family moved to Thousand Oaks, California, in 1965. He graduated in 1978 from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) with a degree in political science. At 23, he was elected chair of the Ventura County Republican Party, and served until 1981. He was chief of staff to State Senator Ed Davis from 1980 to 1982. From 1992 to 1994, he served as director of the Center for the California Taxpayer. He was director of the Claremont Institute's Golden State Center for Policy Studies from 1995 to 1996.
California Assembly (1982–1992, 1996–2000)
In 1982, at age 26, McClintock ran for California's 36th State Assembly district, then based in Thousand Oaks, after redistricting. He defeated Democrat Harriet Kosmo Henson 56%–44%. He was reelected in 1984, defeating Tom Jolicoeur 72%–28%. In 1986, he was reelected to a third term, defeating Frank Nekimken 73%–25%. In 1988, he was reelected to a fourth term, defeating George Webb II 70%–29%. In 1990, he was reelected to a fifth term, defeating Ginny Connell 59%–36%.
After running for Congress in 1992 and for controller in 1994, McClintock ran for the Assembly again in 1996. He ran for California's 38th State Assembly district and defeated Democrat Jon Lauritzen 56%–40% to win his sixth Assembly term. In 1998, McClintock was reelected to a seventh term unopposed.
McClintock authored California's lethal injection use for California's death penalty law. He also opposed tax increases and supported spending cuts. He was a strong proponent of abolishing the car tax.
In 2000, McClintock retired from the California Assembly to run for California's 19th State Senate district. He ranked first in the March 7 open primary with 52% of the vote. In November, he defeated Democrat Daniel Gonzalez, 58%–42%. He was reelected in 2004, defeating Paul Joseph Graber, 61%–39%.
In 2008, McClintock voted against Proposition 2, which prohibits confining calves, pigs and hens in small cages in which they cannot extend their limbs. "Farm animals are food, not friends", he said in response to backlash to his vote. He also cited concern about increased grocery bills. In 2000, he was instrumental in proposing a two-thirds reduction in the vehicle license fee, or car tax. In 2003, he opposed then-Governor Gray Davis's attempt to rescind a rollback of a vehicle license fee. McClintock has also opposed deficit reduction efforts that would have increased taxes. He supported the Bureaucracy Reduction and Closure Commission and performance-based budgeting.
McClintock ran for California State Controller after incumbent Gray Davis retired. He won the Republican primary, defeating John Morris, 61%–39%. In the general election, he lost to Kathleen Connell, former Special Assistant to Los Angeles Mayor Tom Bradley and Director of the L.A. Housing Authority, 48%–46%, with three other candidates receiving the other 6% of the vote.
McClintock ran for controller again in 2002, facing Democratic nominee Steve Westly, an eBay executive. Westly outspent him 5-to-1. McClintock's campaigns focused on increasing accountability for the state budget. The ads featured the character Angus McClintock, a fictional cousin and fellow Scottish American extolling McClintock's thriftiness and accountability in low-budget 15-second ads. He lost by a margin of just 0.2%, or 16,811 votes, to Westly, who won with 45.3% of the vote. Three other candidates received 9.5% of the vote.
2003 gubernatorial recall election
In 2003, McClintock ran in the recall election against Davis. Republican and film actor Arnold Schwarzenegger won the election with 49% of the vote. Democratic Lieutenant Governor Cruz Bustamante finished second with 31%. McClintock finished third with 14%. Together, Republicans Schwarzenegger and McClintock were supported by 5,363,778 Californians, or 62.1% of the vote. 132 other candidates received the remaining 6.4%.
McClintock performed the best in Stanislaus County, where he received 24% of the vote. He also cracked 20% or higher in several other counties: Mariposa (23%), Tuolumne (22%), Tehama (21%), Calaveras (20%), Madera (20%), Modoc (20%), Shasta (20%), San Joaquin (20%), and Ventura (20%).
2006 lieutenant gubernatorial election
McClintock ran for lieutenant governor in 2006. He defeated Tony Farmer in the Republican primary, 94–6%. In the general election, he lost to Democratic State Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi, 49%–45%.
After redistricting, McClintock retired from the Assembly to challenge Democratic U.S. Representative Anthony C. Beilenson in California's 24th congressional district. He won the nine-candidate Republican primary with a plurality of 34% of the vote, beating second-place finisher Sang Korman by 11 points. Beilenson defeated McClintock, 56–39%.
On March 4, 2008, McClintock announced his candidacy for the U.S. House of Representatives in California's 4th congressional district, about 300 miles north of the district McClintock represented in the state Senate. The district's nine-term incumbent, John Doolittle, was retiring. McClintock was unable to vote for himself in either the primary or the general election. Although for most of the year he lived in Elk Grove, a suburb of Sacramento within the 3rd district at the time, his legal residence was in Thousand Oaks, within the borders of his state senate district. The California Constitution requires state senators to maintain their legal residence in the district they represent.