Huckleberries Online

Labrador Not 1 Of GOP’s ‘Young Guns’

Posted by DFO

July 21, 2010 5:42 p.m. • 7 comments

The National Republican Congressional Committee elevated 33 more GOP congressional candidates to its “Young Guns” program today, but Idaho GOP challenger Raul Labrador wasn’t on the list. The Hill newspaper reported today that 14 candidates made the “Contender” level, and 19 were named to the “On the Radar” list. In February, Idaho 1st District congressional candidate Vaughn Ward was named to the top tier of the program, “Young Gun” status; Labrador then defeated him in Idaho’s May GOP primary/Betsy Russell, Eye On Boise. More here.

Question: Seems like Republican Raul Labrador is having a bad week on the election campaign front, with stories of incumbent Walt Minnick rolling up a huge lead in money race and follow-up stories by nonpartisans re: the district leaning Democrat. Why is Labrador having trouble getting traction? Or does it matter in midsummer?

Seven comments on this post so far. Add yours!

almostinnocentbystander on July 21 at 6:34 p.m.
Does momentum “matter in midsummer”? Labrador has slightly more than three months to create some enthusiasm with Republican voters (notice I didn’t say Libertarian, Constitutionalist or Democrat voters). When is he going to get started? He raising very little money although his supporters say he’s getting lots from the national organization but that only means the grassroots support is simply not there. Hmmm, wonder why … could it be that a Puerto Rican attorney for illegal immigrants doesn’t exactly resonate with Idahoans? Arizona is being overrun … and that’s by the Obama Administration and Labrador doesn’t have any answers. He’d better come up with some before November.
BlueIdahos on July 21 at 6:49 p.m.
I still think Labrador pulls it out. All the voters will go to the polls and simply vote for the guy with the “R” beside his name.

Also, Labrador’s fundraising has been pathetic, but the RNC, NRCC, Idaho GOP, etc will just pay the money to flood the airwaves with Labrador ads, and Minnick attack ads this fall.
heprophet on July 21 at 7:12 p.m.
He is having trouble because he has got some serious baggage that comes with his experience as an immigration attorney, and plus he is having trouble with his mouth not being synchronized with his brain. He doesn’t play well in the Republican sandbox. Labrador has got some questions that people want answers to know about his employers in the Ag and Dairy industries as an immigration attorney. He is on the side of employers who want the free flow of cheap illegal labor to continue across our borders unchecked.That is UN-American and unacceptable to many people especially to those who waited years to come here the right way and worked hard in doing it.
Phaedrus on July 21 at 8:16 p.m.
the RNC, NRCC, Idaho GOP, etc will just pay the money to flood the airwaves with Labrador ads, and Minnick attack ads this fall.

Don’t hold your breathe, blue. If they aren’t ponying up money now, don’t think they’l blow $$ dragging the stiff across the finish line come November.
Sisyphus on July 21 at 8:19 p.m.
Well. There you have it. I reckon I can’t outdo such an august panel of Republicans on that analysis. Raul’s got it in the bag.
BlueIdahos on July 21 at 8:26 p.m.
phaedrus, they already have. I don’t watch much TV(especially local TV), but have you seen this ad?

http://www.nrcc.org/default.asp?id=274&newsid=1702
Lizard_People on July 22 at 8:15 a.m.
The RNC really should have known that a neo-con carpetbagger wasn’t going to fly in Idaho. It really shows how out of touch they are.

They totally could have found a Rand Paul type carpetbagger who would have sailed to an easy victory.

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D.F. Oliveria is a columnist and blogger for The Spokesman-Review. Huckleberries Online was judged the best 2008 Idaho newspaper blog by the Idaho Press Club. And the best 2007 news blog in the Pacific Northwest by the Society for Professional Journalist. Print Huckleberries is a past winner of the Herb Caen Memorial Column contest by the National Association of Newspaper Columnists. The Readership Institute of Northwestern University cited this blog as a good example of online community journalism.