Ken Roberts quits race for 1st CD

November 10th, 2009

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Ken Roberts quits Idaho congressional race; newcomer Ward vows to keep working hard

Idaho House GOP Caucus Chairman Ken Roberts withdrew from the 2010 race for Congress Tuesday, shortly after his former campaign manager said Roberts wasn’t raising enough money to win.

In a news release, Roberts said his health was a deciding factor. He also said he expects another candidate with “strong conservative credentials” to enter the race in his stead. Last week, Roberts said former U.S. Rep. Bill Sali may run to reclaim a seat he lost to Democrat Walt Minnick in 2008 by about 4,200 votes.

[...]

This may lend more credence to the rumor that Bill Sali is going to try and get his seat back. Though may prove difficult for even Bill Sali to win the primary against Vaughn Ward with his Palin/GOP establishment nexus. From the get-go Roberts has been a candidate out of his league, so I don’t think that this really comes as a big surprise, especially when Ward has out-raised Roberts, $246,000 to $62,000.

Updated:

We now know who that “unnamed Conservative” is, it’s Rep. Raul Labrador (R-Eagle). After Roberts announced that he was leaving the race, Labrador announced that he is running for the seat.

An interesting development, indeed. Labrador is really cut from the same cloth as Bill Sali when it comes to tax issues, but he doesn’t seem to be as much of a hardliner as Bill Sali when it comes to social issues. That being said, Labrador is on the outs with the establishment, much of his support will come from the far-right of the Idaho GOP.

This should make for an interesting primary as Labrador is a viable candidate — Roberts never was.

Posted in Politics

fortboise

Interesting. (And who knew that Palin and the GOP establishment were sharing a nexus? Ok, she was nominated for Vice-President, but really, nexus?)
Chris

Ward is tight with Palin's in-laws who have been doing some campaigning for him, whether or not he is as to the right as Sarah is... who knows? Ward (from what I'm hearing) has the support of a lot of the Idaho GOP establishment, think... the folks who would have been supporting McGee had he tossed his hat in.

Ward get's a double whammy, he gets to claim support from the likes of Palin who is immensely popular in Conservative circles while also getting support from the establishment (something Sali didn't have). Should no other big names enter the race (Sali and whoever this "unnamed Conservative" is) Ward should easlily win the nomination and present a formidable challenge for Minnick.

No matter how much to the right Minnick votes, when presented with a choice between two similar candidates, Idaho voters will instinctively pull the lever for the "R".