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Despite Rising Challenges, Rep. Tom McClintock Believes Seat Is Safe

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — The June primary election is less than a month away and the Senate race in California's gold country is heating up.

"The entire country is watching California and they're looking to the heart of the gold country to see what happens with Tom Mcclintock and Jessica Morse," said Joe Vigna with the California Democratic Party.

California's 4th congressional district historically has been a safe seat for Republican incumbent Rep. Tom McClintock, but this year there has been unprecedented momentum by his Democratic challengers.

But is it enough to flip the district?

On Wednesday, residents in the 4th District were hard at work supporting Democratic endorsed candidate Jessica Morse, running against McClintock.

"This is the first time that I've seen the swelling of support," said Liz Jensen of Roseville.

The Republican-leaning district, which includes the Sacramento suburbs of Roseville, El Dorado Hills, and the Sierra Nevada Communities, has 43 percent Republican registered voters and 29 percent Democrats.

"We really think this is the year we can take out Tom Mcclintock and we're working overtime to make it happen," said Vigna.

Vigna says he's seen unprecedented momentum since President Donald Trump took office. And the party is seeing the momentum with seats being flipped across the country from the U.S Senate race in Alabama and seats flipped in Pennsylvania.

They're hoping to bring that same change here, come June 5.

"Democrats are in a fighting spirit that we haven't seen before and Republicans don't understand what's coming for them," said Vigna.

McClintock, who took office in 2008, faced a number of protests following his strong support of some of President Trump's executive actions including the U.S Mexico wall and the Muslim ban. But he believes his seat is safe.

"I'm very confident of the positions that I've taken in this Congress and the leadership that I've shown continues to be supported by the vast majority of people in this district," said Congressman McClintock.

Meanwhile, former national security strategist and the daughter of two teachers Jessica Morse has outraised the incumbent three quarters in a row.

"No one has raised that much in this district in a decade, it's an indicator that our campaign is competitive, and we can scale our message and mobilize our grassroots base," said Morse.

She adds, "I'm not politics, as usual. This is my first time as a candidate, I've dedicated my whole life to public service."

Morse has been accused of embellishing her resume, but her party isn't too concerned about that. They do have their eye on another democratic challenger that has gained momentum, political science professor Regina Bateson.

Both women now battling it out hoping to turn this red seat blue.

"The community is ready for change and freshness," said Morse.

Primary voting starts soon, some people have already received their vote by mail ballots.

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