Spokane7
48°Quick links: NCAA tournament • Gonzaga hoops • Easter photo contest • Washington Legislature • Idaho Legislature
After the Idaho Republican Party took the unusual step of passing a central committee resolution backing party involvement in non-partisan city races, one county’s GOP central committee endorsed a challenger, Alex Creek, in a city council race in Idaho Falls; some party activists portrayed a Boise City Council race as partisan because one candidate, T.J. Thomson, was a key organizer for Barack Obama’s Idaho campaign; and a non-official GOP group endorsed and campaigned for a city council challenger, Jim Brannon, against councilman Mike Kennedy in Coeur d’Alene. The result: Creek lost 2-1; Thomson won handily; and Kennedy won by five votes.
This morning, Idaho GOP Chairman Norm Semanko held a press conference call with reporters to “discuss the 2009 elections and what they mean for Idaho in 2010.” But Semanko focused on the outcome of governor’s races in Virginia and New Jersey, both of which were won by Republicans. “Americans soundly rejected the big-government policies of President Obama and the Democrats,” Semanko said. “There’s no other way to interpret the numbers.” Republicans also lost a seat in Congress in a special election in New York, but Semanko dismissed that as a special case and a “non-story.”
As for the Idaho races, Semanko said, “No. 1, they’re nonpartisan races, so nobody had an elephant or a donkey next to their name, so it’s really hard to even analyze it from that perspective. People were focused in different races on different local issues.” He said the state party has responded to the central committee resolution by leaving any moves up to local county party organizations. “We would never jump in over the top of the local party and suggest what they should be doing,” Semanko said.
Betsy Z. Russell covers Idaho news from The Spokesman-Review's bureau in Boise.
999 W. Riverside, Spokane, WA 99201
P.O. Box 2160, Spokane, WA 99210
Main switchboard: (509) 459-5000 • (800) 338-8801
Newsroom: (509) 459-5400 • (800) 789-0029
Customer service: (800) 338-8801
© Copyright 2010, The Spokesman-Review
Eagle726 on November 04 at 9:31 a.m.
Unfortunately the Idaho Republican Party is beginning to tout the notion of a “One Party” Government quite regularly … Mr. Semenko's latest drive to close the primaries is a prime example of this Philosophy.
Flag as inappropriate
scootermom on November 04 at 9:41 a.m.
Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah ….
Norm is spinning like a whirling dervish.
Flag as inappropriate
Sisyphus on November 04 at 9:42 a.m.
What an idiot. The most partisan race was the special election in New York. The teabagger candidate ran off the Republican candidate who endorsed the Democrat. And the Democrat won in a district that hasn't had a Democrat represent it in over a century. If any partisan message came from last night, its that teabaggery does not represent the future of America.
What was amazing about the other mentioned races was that the Republican in New Jersey didn't win by a wider margin against a sitting Governor with only 30 % favorables. Similarly in Virginia, the Democrat ran as a DINO failing to offer Virginians a clear choice. The exit polls in both states show that Obama still shared the same level of support he received when he won those states last year. Hardly a referendum on Obama.
Flag as inappropriate
slfisher on November 04 at 10:35 a.m.
How does “we would never jump in” jibe with Jorgensen's claim that he was told to support Republican candidates?
Sisyphus, thanks for mentioning District 23 in upstate New York; I was going to mention that myself.
Flag as inappropriate
Sisyphus on November 04 at 11:23 a.m.
Well actually Betsy mentioned it, to Norm, who dismissed it out of hand. As I recall, Norm was elected as Director of the Idaho Republicans by the teabagging element in a very close race. Of course he wants to dismiss that race in New York. His faction got their hats handed to them in one of the last places in New England that reliably elected Republicans. I believe Idaho Falls had a similar result by the Republican endorsements of teabagging candidates failed over there.
But you point out what I think was the big winner last night in Idaho. Partisanship in city elections. As Betsy observes, the race in CdA was infected with it. And Semanko ironically dismisses that as well.
Flag as inappropriate
fortboise on November 04 at 10:14 p.m.
“There’s no other way to interpret the numbers.”
Nice try, Norm. Somehow if you spout nonsense with *certainty*, it magically creates credibility.
Flag as inappropriate