Labrador announces for 1st CD

Rep. Raul Labrador, R-Eagle, formally announced his candidacy for the 1st District congressional seat this morning, to a loudly cheering crowd in the rather cramped third-floor lobby of the Capitol Annex. Labrador, a second-term state representative who was an outspoken opponent last session of Gov. Butch Otter’s proposals to raise gas taxes and car registration fees to fund road work, declared, “I will fight to protect your liberty and freedom from an ever-expanding federal government,” and said, “Now is not the time to send an unproven person to Washington.” He’s entering a GOP primary race that already includes Vaughn Ward, an Iraq war veteran who’s been campaigning hard for months and has rolled up big fundraising numbers; state Rep. Ken Roberts, R-Donnelly, dropped out of the race last month. The target: First-term Democratic Rep. Walt Minnick, an incumbent who already has raised far more than any of the Republicans for his re-election bid.

Former GOP Rep. Bill Sali, whom Minnick defeated in 2008, has also said he’s considering a comeback bid but remains undecided. Labrador said he’s running regardless of what Sali does. “Bill Sali’s a good friend,” he said. “I will allow Bill Sali to make his own decision. … What I’m going to do is I’d fight to win this race.” Labrador said jobs and the economy are his top issue; he heads to Coeur d’Alene this afternoon for a similar announcement.