Nielsen says he didn’t get Bedke endorsement before placing ad claiming it
Here’s a news item from the Associated Press: BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Idaho Rep. Pete Nielsen says he didn't have House Speaker Scott Bedke's endorsement despite running ads in three weekly newspapers claiming the House leader supported Nielsen's run for re-election. Nielsen, a Republican from Mountain Home, told The Associated Press on Friday that he faced a strict newspaper deadline and could not wait for Bedke's response to a request for endorsement. However, Nielsen says that he received Bedke's endorsement two years ago, which he assumed he would get again for this year. Bedke did not immediately return requests for comment. Earlier this year, Nielsen pleaded not guilty to poaching charges. His plea and sentencing hearing is scheduled for May 17, the same day as the upcoming primary election. Nielsen is running against Megan Blanksma, a Republican from Hammett. AP reporter Kimberlee Kruesi has a full report here.
Nielsen’s large ad, which ran in the Owyhee Avalanche, Mountain Home News and the Buhl Herald, came out on Wednesday in all three papers; the deadline to place the ad was last Friday. Across the bottom of the ad, it says in all-caps, “ENDORSED BY IDAHO’S HOUSE LEADERSHIP.”
I spoke with Rep. Brent Crane, R-Nampa, the House assistant majority leader, and he said Nielsen asked for and received his endorsement, but he couldn’t remember when. “To me it’s a non-issue, because as a member of leadership I’m supporting the guys in my caucus,” Crane said. “We make it very abundantly clear that if you’re a member of our caucus, we’re supporting you.”
He said he and other members of GOP leadership have signed endorsement letters for a handful of Republican incumbents seeking re-election this spring after being requested to do so, though Nielsen wasn’t among them. Bedke didn’t immediately return calls; House Majority Leader Mike Moyle declined to comment.
Nielsen, a controversial seven-term lawmaker who faces two challengers in the GOP primary on Tuesday, apologized this year after repeatedly making statements in legislative hearings and media interviews that he believed rape and incest are unlikely to result in pregnancy; he also was arrested this year for poaching an elk. His challengers are Megan Blanksma, a farmer from Hammett and the current Elmore County GOP chair; and Justin Freeman of Marsing. Blanksma reported raising more than $28,000 in contributions to her campaign since July 1, while Nielsen initially reported raising just $2,920; he then had to return a $1,000 donation that exceeded limits because he got two $1,000 contributions from companies that are parent and subsidiary and share an address; that brought his fundraising since Jan. 1 down to just $1,920.
Freeman, the third candidate in the race, still hasn’t filed his campaign finance report, which was due by Wednesday at 5 p.m. Chief Deputy Secretary of State Tim Hurst said Freeman faces fines of $50 a day for missing the deadline. “We sent a out a letter to him – tried to call him, couldn’t get hold of him,” Hurst said, “saying, ‘Your report’s not in – you’re going to get fined if you don’t get it in now.”
