Elections
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.
Upon McClintock's entry into the race, fellow Republicans Rico Oller and Eric Egland withdrew from the primary and endorsed him. He was also endorsed by the Republican Liberty Caucus, the Club for Growth, and U.S. Representative Ron Paul. McClintock faced former U.S. Representative Doug Ose, a moderate who represented the neighboring 3rd District from 1999 to 2005. Like McClintock, Ose lived outside the district and was painted as a carpetbagger and a liberal who had voted to raise taxes and who voted for earmarks. McClintock defeated Ose, 54–39%.
The Democratic nominee was retired Air Force Lt. Col. Charles D. (Charlie) Brown, who had run an unexpectedly strong race against Doolittle in 2006. In March 2008, Ose's campaign commercials criticized McClintock for receiving over $300,000 in per diem living expenses during his time in the state senate even though he lived in Elk Grove for most of the year. McClintock maintained that the payments were justified because his legal residence was in Thousand Oaks, in his district. He said, "Every legislator's [Sacramento area] residence is close to the Capitol. My residential costs up here are much greater than the average legislator because my family is here." Ose's campaign commercials argued McClintock did not own or rent a home in the 19th district, but claimed his mother's home in Thousand Oaks as his state senate district residence. These attacks prompted a response from McClintock's wife, Lori, who said McClintock stayed with his mother to care for her after she fell ill and after the death of her husband. McClintock ran ads attacking Brown's participation at a 2005 protest by Code Pink, a prominent antiwar group, and argued Brown supported gay marriage but not the troops in Iraq. He also portrayed Brown as a clone of Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
By November 23, McClintock led Brown by 1,566 votes (0.4% of the vote), 184,190 to 182,624. Subsequent returns expanded the margin slightly with the last returns coming in from El Dorado County shortly after Thanksgiving. On December 1, McClintock declared victory and Brown conceded on December 3. McClintock defeated Brown by a margin of 0.5%, or 1,800 votes. He prevailed by a 3,500-vote margin in Placer County, the district's largest county. Brown won three of the district's nine counties: Sierra (49.8%), Plumas (47.9%), and Nevada (42.3%). McClintock won mainly on the coattails from John McCain, who carried the 4th with 54% of the vote, his fifth-best total in the state.
McClintock defeated Michael Babich in the Republican primary, Babich 78–22%. On November 2, he was reelected, defeating businessman Clint Curtis 61–31% and winning every county in the district.
For his first two terms, McClintock represented a district covering the northeast corner of California, from the eastern suburbs of Sacramento to the Oregon border.
Redistricting after the 2010 census pushed the 4th well to the south. Only three counties remained from the old 4th: Nevada, Placer, and El Dorado. The redrawn district cut out the 4th's share of Sacramento County, including the part of Elk Grove that includes McClintock's home. Elk Grove is now entirely within the borders of the neighboring 7th District, represented by Democrat Ami Bera, making McClintock one of only a few members of Congress who live outside the district they represent. House members are constitutionally required only to live in the state they represent, but longstanding convention holds that they live in or reasonably close to their districts. McClintock said in 2016 that he intended to move his residence inside the redrawn 4th as soon as home prices rebounded enough for him to sell his Elk Grove home.
In 2012, California instituted its "top two" primary, in which candidates of all parties run against one another and the top two finishers, regardless of party, advance to the general election. McClintock and Democrat Jack Uppal were the only candidates in the "top two" primary, so the general election was a rematch. The reconfigured 4th was as strongly Republican as its predecessor, and McClintock was reelected to a third term, defeating Uppal 61%–39% in the general election. McClintock won all but two of the district's ten counties: Alpine (41%) and Nevada (37%).
McClintock was reelected, finishing first in California's "top two" primary and defeating moderate Republican challenger National Guard Major Art Moore in the general election, 60%–40%.
McClintock again finished first in the primary and defeated Democrat Robert W. Derlet, a physician, environmentalist and retired UC Davis professor, in the general election, 63%–37%.
McClintock defeated Democratic challenger Jessica Morse in the general election, receiving 184,401 votes to her 156,253 (54.1% to 45.9%).
