Tom McClintock

McClintock of Thousand Oaks prides himself on his knowledge of the complicated, arcane state budget and parliamentary rules governing the Legislature, to which he was first elected at age 26. He has become an icon of fiscal conservatism and one of the few stars for the California GOP. He twice ran for state controller, once using cheeky ads featuring a fictional Scottish cousin, Angus McClintock, extolling Tom's cheapness. He lost his second run for controller in 2002 by the closest margin in California history, or as McClintock explains on his website, "23/100th of one percent of the votes cast."