Freshman Democratic Congressman Walt Minnick, the only Democrat among Idaho’s congressional delegation, said tonight that he’s not surprised he’s in such a hard-fought re-election race. “It’s the most Republican district to have elected a Democratic challenger in a Democratic year,” he said of his election in 2008. “We’re now in a very Republican year. In that circumstance … I think it was a given that it was going to have a lot of attention.” He said that was regardless of who the GOP nominee was against him.
Minnick said with a “Republican wave” out there, “more and more people have been asking, why shouldn’t it affect Idaho?” Plus, he said, it’s a time when “emotions are high and there is a great deal of disaffection,” given the nation’s economic straits and their impact on people. “Will people look beyond party label to the policies and background of the candidates as individuals? That’s the issue,” he said. “I’m of course hopeful that they will. We’ll have to see how it turns out. I expect it to be very close.
Betsy Z. Russell covers Idaho news from The Spokesman-Review's bureau in Boise.
Named best state-based political blog in Idaho for 2013 by The Fix
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