Ex-GOP congressman enters governor race

Ose said he will provide more details on his campaign platform when he makes a formal announcement in the coming weeks.

Ose, 62, represented the Sacramento area in Congress from 1999 to 2005 and unsuccessfully challenged Democratic U.S. Rep. Ami Bera in 2014.

He was widely viewed as a moderate while serving in Congress. He later emerged as a strong backer of President Donald Trump during the 2016 campaign, serving as a delegate at the Republican National Convention.

He is jumping in to a field so far dominated by Democrats. The two candidates that win the most votes in the June primary will go on to the November general election, regardless of party.

In the 2016 U.S. Senate race, Republicans were shut out of the race, but turnout isn’t likely to be as high in a midterm contest. Republicans are hoping an initiative to repeal a new gas tax increase will drive GOP voters to the polls.

The other Republicans in the race are businessman John Cox of San Diego and Assemblyman Travis Allen of Huntington Beach. Democrats running are Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, State Treasurer John Chiang and former state schools superintendent Delaine Easton.

Beyond politics, Ose is a wealthy developer who helps run a Sacramento park. He told the Sacramento Bee that leaders are failing Californians on everything from taxes and crime to infrastructure and education.

Also Friday, Cox announced he’s spending nearly $80,000 for three weeks of radio advertisements. In the ad, he accuses Brown and Newsom of “socking it to middle-class taxpayers and small-business owners” and pledges to halt a newly enacted policy that adds protections for immigrants living in the country illegally.