Said the practitioners of conventional wisdom on the eve of last week's Idaho primary election, you could count on this much: Hard-right extremists from California had so overrun northern Idaho that the region's two remaining pragmatic Republicans - Sen. Shawn Keough, R-Sandpoint, and Rep. Luke Malek, R-Coeur d'Alene - were doomed to lame-duckhood. Meanwhile, eastern Idaho's more traditional conservative voters would remain a bulwark against the radicals who occupied so many Republican legislative seats elsewhere in the state. As it frequently does, conventional wisdom landed on its ear. Keough and Malek won their contests convincingly/Marty Trillhaase, Lewiston Tribune. More here.

DFO: Marty has hit the nail on the head. The Tea Party/Liberty/Redoubt faction of the Idaho Republican Party has tried to depress turnout with its closed primary. It has succeeded in North Idaho until the GOPrimary last week that's why we have had such a dismal delegation overall from this region. Thoughts?