Former State Senator Rico Oller announced today he is leaving the race for the Republican nomination in California's 4th District, and simultaneously endorsed State Senator Tom McClintock, who was set to officially enter the race at a morning press conference.

Rep. John Doolittle announced in January that he was stepping down at the end of the year. Doolittle is currently under investigation in a congressional lobbying scandal.

What appeared to be a three-person race for the GOP nomination has quickly dwindled to two. Besides Oller, the other GOP candidates included former U.S. Rep. Doug Ose and Air Force Reservist Eric Egland. The Sacramento Bee reported today that Egland would also be supporting McClintock, leaving Ose as the only other candidate in the race.

In a press release today, Oller explained his exit, stating that if he and McClintock both remain in the race, "we run the very great risk of delivering the seat to an unarguably liberal Republican, Doug Ose."

The winner of the GOP primary will take on Democrat Charlie Brown, who lost to Doolittle in 2006 by just 3 points and held the incumbent under 50 percent for the first time in nine elections. But the Republican nominee starts with a great advantage, as this northern California district gave President Bush 61 percent of the vote in 2004.

--Kyle Trygstad