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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Eye On Boise

Grant on 1st CD Dem primary result: ‘It doesn’t actually make sense’

Here's a link to my full story at spokesman.com on how Democratic congressional candidate Jimmy Farris says he's learned a lesson, after he didn't actively campaign during his primary race and ended up with only a five percentage point lead over a mentally ill candidate who's facing felony charges. Farris lost to Cynthia Clinkingbeard in four of the five northernmost counties, plus two others. Jim Weatherby, Boise State University emeritus professor of public policy, said, "Apparently a considerable amount of the voters didn't know either candidate," and just picked a name. "There is something to be said for a positive campaign where you're introducing yourself to the voters, and apparently he didn't do that either."

Weatherby said it was unlikely that Republicans sought to make mischief in the Democratic primary by voting for Clinkingbeard over Farris. "There was too much action in the Republican primaries," he said. Idaho Democratic Party Chairman Larry Grant said, "I would just caution anyone from trying to draw any conclusions from the numbers, because it doesn't actually make sense." He noted that Democratic turnout was low, and Democrats allowed independents, third-party members and even Republicans to vote in their primary, while Republicans closed theirs to all but registered Republicans. "Once we get the data, we'll be able to tell who voted in which primary, and that will give us the answer," Grant said.
 



Betsy Z. Russell
Betsy Z. Russell joined The Spokesman-Review in 1991. She currently is a reporter in the Boise Bureau covering Idaho state government and politics, and other news from Idaho's state capital.

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