Congressman McClintock Does Battle with The RATT Pack

Amid the so called “Blue Wave” of Democrats supposedly poised to win back many national seats that Republicans hold, sits Rep. Tom McClintock (R-CD4). Now in his 5th consecutive term, McClintock finds himself up against not only Democrat challenger Jessica Morse, but also the RATT Pack.

Loyal supporters of the 36-year-old Morse describe her as young, energetic and a “middle of the road Democrat,” while the RATT Pack opposes nearly everything that the 61-year-old McClintock represents. In the political limelight since 1982, the RATT Pack—better known as Resistance Action Tuesdays and Thursdays—says it is time for McClintock to go. Literally grouping together every Tuesday and Thursday outside of the Congressman’s office since early May, Barbara Brass of Roseville says the group continues to gain more supporters every week.

While the district McClintock and Morse fight over is home to roughly 710,000 people, will the RATT Pack’s left wing support be strong enough to carry her to a November victory in a historically red constituency? According to the Sacramento Bee, in the June primary McClintock finished with 52 percent of the primary vote while Morse finished with 20 percent of the vote and a third contender with 13 percent.

Despite her slim primary victory, throwing money at the campaign may be Morse’s solution to closing the gap. While McClintock has raised roughly $1.1 million, Morse has outraised him amassing a total of $1.45 million. While sources close to McClintock say that the representative is confident he will carry out a November win, it should be pointed out that this is the first time he has ever been out funded since coming into federal office.

So what is the RATT pack’s next move? Whatever it is, it will not involve the Congressman’s office. At least not physically. According to staff in McClintock’s office, just recently the group marched into the representative’s office and proceeded to walk straight past the lobby area and into the staff-only portion of the suite. Several employees who have worked in the building for some time told California Globe they were “shocked” when they witnessed what was going on. It is not confirmed if law enforcement or federal officials were needed to remove the protesters from the building, however there will no longer be any anti-McClintock chants bellowing from the office as the representative and staff collectively decided to install a home security type video recorder and doorbell at their front door.

While McClintock has always claimed to maintain an open door policy, it is apparent that he can no longer accept unscheduled appointments. When asked by a California Globe reporter if the RATT pack did indeed charge into McClintock’s office several  pack supporters  acknowledged the event, however they disagreed upon the circumstances, citing that they tried to deliver a personal letter to the representative.

With a little over two months left in the campaign season it will be interesting to see who comes out on top in this race. So far, Republicans have won eight of the nine special elections that have taken place since the 2016 presidential election. But in many, the Democratic candidate far outperformed past elections, and the fact that it’s clearly close in California’s 4^th District will probably worry Republicans and energize Democrats. You can find McClintock’s schedule here and Morse’s schedule here.