Wanted? Don't let it stop you from voting in the primary election on May 25th. According to an obscure Idaho law that dates all the way back to 1891, Idaho electors - that's voters - are "privileged from arrest, except for treason, a felony or…
The Associated Press is reporting that Laura Silsby, the 40-year-old Idaho missionary who led a group of 10 Americans that was caught trying to take a busload of children out of Haiti after the Jan. 12 earthquake, has been sentenced to time served and released.…
The last of the "Idaho Debates" for the May 25 primary election is tomorrow night, when GOP candidates for governor will face off before a live audience, in a debate to be broadcast live statewide on Idaho Public Television. Thus far, incumbent Gov. Butch Otter…
Vaughn Ward and Raul Labrador, who are vying for the GOP nomination for Idaho’s 1st District congressional seat, have much in common, though they’re locked in a contentious and sometimes bitter contest for the nod in Idaho’s May 25 primary election. Both are barely past…
Here's a link to my full story at spokesman.com on the big shake-up today in Vaughn Ward's congressional campaign. Dennis Mansfield, spokesman for rival candidate Raul Labrador's campaign, said, "I've never seen a self-immolation of a political campaign like this in the 30-plus years I've…
Here's a news item from The Associated Press: BOISE, Idaho (AP) — The leaders of Tea Party Boise are endorsing Republican Raul Labrador in the race for the GOP nomination in Idaho's 1st Congressional District. The organization, which touts 2,600 members in southwestern Idaho, picked…
Answering a caller's question on KBOI radio about the departure of his campaign manager, Ryan O'Barto, congressional candidate Vaughn Ward said, "The campaign manager, he was not fired, he tendered his resignation. It was very hard for me to accept his resignation. He felt it…
Vaughn Ward's campaign hasn't returned calls today, but Ward just said on KBOI radio that he's "clarified" that he didn't fire campaign manager Ryan O'Barto, as reported on Politico.com; the Associated Press is reporting that O'Barto has resigned. Ward said, "To deal with some of…
Al Henderson, whom the Associated Press reports will be Vaughn Ward's new campaign manager, signed on with Ward's campaign on April 29 as senior finance director. A Ward press release issued on that date said, "Henderson, a successful, long-time GOP fundraiser, will help the Ward…
Here's a news item from the Associated Press: BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Republican congressional candidate Vaughn Ward's campaign manager is stepping down — 12 days before the primary and in the wake of a series of political missteps. Ward campaign consultant Mike Tracy confirmed Friday…
The Idaho Fish & Game Department is planning a "wolf control action" in the Lolo Zone, to be carried out by four licensed outfitters, each of whom will be authorized to kill up to five wolves by June 30; the "agency control action is not…
Why is Democratic gubernatorial candidate Keith Allred happy about the new Rasmussen poll that shows incumbent GOP Gov. Butch Otter at 54 percent support to 32 percent for Allred? "It's momentum," said Allred campaign spokesman Shea Andersen. "In seven weeks we gained 10 points. ...…
Idaho won't apply for the next round of federal "Race to the Top" funding after all, state Superintendent of Schools Tom Luna announced today, after its first-round application was rejected. Luna had been enthusiastic about the program the first time around, saying it might be…
The Idaho Press-Tribune reports that congressional candidate Vaughn Ward told its editorial board this morning that he "planned to announce a restructuring of his campaign staff on Saturday." The paper reported, "While not offering specifics, Ward alluded to major changes and was accompanied by longtime…
Politico.com is reporting that Idaho congressional candidate Vaughn Ward has fired his campaign manager and is bringing on a new interim manager plus a "press secretary with experience working in the office of former Idaho Sen. Larry Craig." You can read Politico's article here; it…
Democratic U.S. Rep. Walt Minnick collected more than $100,000 in the last reporting period, topping the combined total raised by his two potential Republican rivals and stretching his significant lead in cash available for the general election in November, the AP reports. From April 1…
The state has filed its response to fired Idaho Transportation Director Pam Lowe's motion for a federal court to rule in her favor on most of her key claims in her wrongful-firing case without holding further hearings. In a 23-page memorandum in opposition to Lowe's…
The Associated Press reports that though Idaho congressional candidate Vaughn Ward was heading GOP presidential candidate John McCain's campaign in Nevada in the 2008 general election, Ward didn't vote in the election. Ward told the AP that the frenzied pace of the final days of…
Interestingly, some of the same statements that congressional candidate Vaughn Ward removed from his campaign website today after The Spokesman-Review noted that they're identical to statements on other candidates' and congressmen's websites, also crop up in a Sept. 5, 2009 Q-&-A interview with the "Idaho…
Dennis Mansfield, spokesman for 1st District GOP congressional candidate Raul Labrador's campaign, had this comment on the revelation that half of the position statements posted for at least the past five months on rival Vaughn Ward's website matched statements on other candidates' and congressmen's websites…
Five of the 10 position statements Idaho congressional candidate Vaughn Ward has had posted on his campaign website for at least the past five months are word-for-word identical to statements on other candidates' and congressmen's sites, including one in which Ward touted "my roadmap legislation"…
Montana plans to at least double the number of gray wolves it'll allow hunters there to target in that state's next wolf-hunting season, the AP reports, though Montana's limit this year was just 75. Idaho set its wolf hunting limit at 220 this year, but…
Former Idaho Democratic Congressman Larry LaRocco served two terms, then was defeated by Helen Chenoweth in 1994, the year of the big Republican sweep that brought GOP majorities to both houses of Congress (and also saw huge Republican wins in Idaho that halved the number…
Finally got a chance to talk with Greg Smith today about his recent poll in the 1st CD race and some questions I had about it. Among them: Was the same sample of likely primary election voters asked about both the primary and the general…
Here's a news item from the Associated Press: FORT HALL, Idaho (AP) — The Shoshone-Bannock Tribes say a Wyoming man has escaped from the Fort Hall Jail for a second time in the past month, as a new jail sits empty. Tribal officials say Jerome…