Idaho GOP Rep. Raul Labrador, right, shakes hands with Democratic challenger Jimmy Farris, left, after the two debated on live TV on Thursday night. The Idaho Statesman reports that voters were treated to a spirited debate last night here. (Idaho Public Television photo: Kevin Rank)

Question (from Emily Ritter Saunders/StateImpact): Idaho, why are you not interested in our congressional races? Politicked out? Do I have the wrong impression?

On his way to changing the country, Jimmy Farris was late hitting the road. He didn’t load his car until after 8 p.m., and the trip from Georgia to Idaho would measure more than 2,300 miles. His 3-year-old cat, Caesar, was a nervous wreck — and he was the calmest one in the car. That first night, back in 2011, Farris had hoped to get as far as Nashville. But after only 10 miles, his head was spinning and tears were flowing, and he pulled over. A couple of years had passed since he had played his final game in the National Football League, and this next step was daunting. All he could think was, “What am I doing with my life?” Since he could run, Farris had been a football player. He played wide receiver at a small college and spent six seasons in the NFL, including two with the Washington Redskins/Rick Maese, Washington Post. More here. (AP file photo: As a Washington Redskin in 2005, Jimmy Farris celebrates a touchdown with a teammate)

Question: Is Jimmy Farris the new face of the Idaho Democratic Party?

As Idaho GOP Rep. Raul Labrador seeks re-election for a second term in Congress, he’s made a name for himself in Washington, D.C., as a tea party favorite and hard-line conservative. He’s frequently appeared on national TV and has been prominent in helping GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney court Hispanic votes around the country. Yet his legislative record for his two-year term is light - he's introduced and passed fewer bills than his three first-term predecessors in the 1st Congressional District seat. Labrador has sponsored seven bills and one amendment; one bill and one amendment passed the House. By comparison, his predecessor, Democratic Rep. Walt Minnick, sponsored 27 bills or amendments in his two years in Congress and 10 passed/Betsy Russell, Eye on Boise. More here.

Question: Is it right to judge a congressman's effectiveness by the amount of legislation and amendments s/he sponsors?

Democrat Jimmy Farris, a 1st Congressional District congressman candidate expressed concern in a news release re: Congressman Raul Labrador’s opinion that Congress should take the rest of the year off. In an interview with The Hill earlier this month, Labrador said that he did not think Congress should reconvene for the lame-duck session, saying, “I think the decisions we make in the lame-duck session are not wise decisions for America.” Due to the dire consequences of not convening for the lame-duck session, Labrador and the few who agree with him are in the minority, even amongst other conservatives. “Congressman Labrador doesn’t seem to care that there would be major consequences for not showing up for the lame-duck session,” said Farris. “If Congress doesn’t deal with the fiscal crisis before the end of the year, we will be pushed off the fiscal cliff. Sequestration will go into effect, resulting in cuts to military spending. The nation would be plunged back into a recession. But apparently Congressman Labrador doesn’t think it’s important to show up and prevent these things from happening.”

Question: Any thoughts re: lame-duck sessions?

Democratic congressional hopeful Jimmy Farris has all but put Congressman Raul Labrador's face on a milk carton with the frantic headline: “Have you seen his man?” After all, the freshman Republican hasn't just blown off his under-funded opponent or even the independent Project Vote Smart; he's also AWOL much of the time from his day job. According to GovTrack, which follows Congress, the freshman Idaho Republican has missed 72 of 1,531 recorded votes — 4.7 percent. During the first quarter of this year, Labrador missed more than one in 10 recorded votes. “He owes it to the people of Idaho to tell them why he's missed those votes,” Farris said. Labrador's overall absentee rate is nearly double that of his Idaho Republican colleagues. Second District Congressman Rep. Mike Simpson has missed 2.9 percent of the votes during the nearly 14 years in office. Sen. Mike Crapo has missed 2.2 percent in the last 19 years. Since January of 2009, Sen. Jim Risch has missed just 1.5 percent/Marty Trillhaase, Lewiston Tribune. More here. (Wikipedia photo for illustrative purposes)

Question: Has freshman Congressman Raul Labrador already put his personal interests ahead of Idaho's?

1st Congressional District candidate Jimmy Farris called out Congressman Raul Labrador today for his dismal attendance record in Congress, and wondered what exactly is keeping the congressman from doing his job. “Congressman Labrador has been absent from Congress twice as much as the average representative,” said Farris. “He’s been absent for more than twice the amount of votes that Idaho’s last three First District congressmen – Minnick, Sali, and Otter – had missed. Congress is only in session an average of 140 days a year, so where is he? This is just another example of how Congressman Labrador is not earning his $174,000 a year salary. If any average person – who has to work a lot more than 140 days a year and does not have the luxury of skipping out on work whenever they want – was absent from their job twice as much as their co-workers, they would be fired”/Jimmy Farris for Congress news release.

Question: Farris is referring to a Gov.Tracks.us report that shows freshman Congressman Labrador has missed 4.7% of roll call votes, almost twice the congressional average. Do you think that's too much?

Idaho Statesman reporter Dan Popkey had an interesting report over the weekend on how freshman Idaho Congressman Raul Labrador has been campaigning in Nevada and Colorado for GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney, joining former SBA chief Hector Barreto and Romney's Spanish-speaking son Craig to pitch Romney to Hispanic voters, including addressing Hispanic business groups and doing interviews with Spanish-language media. You can read Popkey's full report here, which also examines other to Idaho officials' close ties to the Romney campaign. Now, Labrador's Democratic opponent, Jimmy Farris, has issued a news release criticizing Labrador for the move, saying he's ignoring voters in his home state/Betsy Russell, Eye on Boise. More here. (AP file photo of Congressman Raul Labrador)

Question: Anything wrong with Congressman Raul Labrador going to nearby states in search of votes among Hispanics for Mitt Romney?

Idaho's 1st District Democratic nominee Jimmy Farris said Thursday that “transparency in our elected officials is of the utmost importance” and released a decade of federal tax returns. (Links are below.) Farris said he was doing so in the spirit for former GOP presidential candidate George Romney and former U.S. Senator Frank Church, D-Idaho, who made similar disclosures. The issue of releasing more than two years of returns has become an issue in the presidential race; GOP nominee Mitt Romney has resisted pressure to do more, though his father, George, released a dozen years of returns in 1968. “I want to make those available for anyone who wants to take a look,” Farris said in a speech prepared for a news conference at Meridian's Generations Plaza. GOP Congressman Raul Labrador declined to release his returns, or to comment, a practice he's followed through the campaign. Said his campaign manager, China Gum: “We will not be responding on this issue”/Dan Popkey, Idaho Statesman. More here. (KLEW file photo)

Question: Do you care whether Congressman Raul Labrador releases his tax returns?

First-time Democratic candidate Jimmy Farris has a buoyant 60-second spot that he hopes will air this fall in his race against freshman GOP Congressman Raul Labrador. Titled, “A Future Leader, Now,” the video is available only on the Web. Farris raised about $37,000 through June 30, compared to Labrador’s $628,000 raised and $203,000 in the bank. Farris said Wednesday that he still plans to tap his roots as a former NFL player and needs to spend $300,000 to be competitive. His newcomer status has been a hurdle, Farris said, though he says he’s raised his profile with retail campaigning in recent months. He hopes to reach $150,000 in contributions by Sept. 30. “Now when I’m making phone calls people know who I am,” Farris said. Farris had hoped his NFL connections would be pivotal, but he has received just $4,000 from four contributors: $500 each from NFL veterans Alge Crumpler, Bryan Scott and Ryan Stewart, and $2,500 from Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank/Dan Popkey, Idaho Statesman. More here. (AP photo of Farris in 2000 during his days as a Montana Grizzly)

• Dan Popkey column on Farris' candidacy
• Boise Weekly feature on Farris

Question: Farris probably won't upset well-heeled Congressman Raul Labrador. But do you consider it a good sign for Idaho Democrats that they're able to attract new, young blood to run for office?

Congress approved a last-minute compromise to fund more than $100 billion in highway, transportation and mass transit projects — and keep interest rates on subsidized federal student loans at 3.4 percent for one more year. But while the catchall bill enjoyed broad bipartisan backing last week — passing the House 373-52 and the Senate 74-19 — it received scant support from Idaho's Republican delegation. Only Rep. Mike Simpson voted yes; Rep. Raul Labrador and Sens. Mike Crapo and Jim Risch voted no. Labrador's Democratic challenger, Jimmy Farris, blasted the vote. “If Congressman Labrador had gotten his way, millions of Americans would have lost their jobs,” said Farris. “College students would be drowning in even deeper debt, and higher education would be further out of reach for those aspiring to go to school. Labrador voted against millions of people trying to support their families and better their lives”/Kevin Richert, Idaho Statesman. More here. (Farris Campaign Photo: Jimmy Farris in Weiser showing Super Bowl ring to fan)

Question: Do you support/oppose Congressman Raul Labrador's transportation/student loan vote?

Idaho Democrats are getting ready to gather in Boise for the party's 2012 convention. Democratic Party Chairman Larry Grant says the agenda for the three-day event includes selecting delegates to attend the party's national convention later this summer and hammering out a platform. Top Democratic officials, legislative and congressional candidates and party representatives from all 44 counties are expected to attend and help shape the state party's plans for the next two years. Friday's keynote speaker is Jimmy Farris, a former NFL player who is running against Republican Raul Labrador in Idaho's 1st Congressional District. On Saturday, former state Sen. Nicole LeFavour will talk about her race against GOP Rep. Mike Simpson in the 2nd Congressional District/Associated Press. More here.

Question: Will this be the beginning of a revival of the Idaho Democrat Party? Or an exercise in futility?

Apparently, in order for a democrat to win a primary in Idaho he/she must run against a mentally ill candidate who is facing felony charges. But perhaps you take away a different moral from Betsy Russell's story.

BOISE – A Democratic candidate for Congress in Idaho says he’s learned a lesson, after he didn’t actively campaign during his primary race and ended up with only a 5 percentage point lead over a mentally ill candidate who’s facing felony charges.

“You can’t take anything for granted,” said Jimmy Farris, a Lewiston native and former NFL football player. “We made a conscious decision not to campaign against her. … We chose not to debate or do anything that would really put her situation kind of in the public or highlight it more than it already was.”

Cynthia Clinkingbeard, a former physician who lost her medical license in 2005 due to issues related to her bipolar disorder, took 47 percent of the vote in Idaho’s Democratic primary last week for the 1st Congressional District, while Farris got 53 percent. She won four of the five northernmost counties: Kootenai, Bonner, Benewah and Boundary. Read more.

It isn’t every day that a Dem congressional candidate in blood-red Idaho asks for support from a man who spoke at the 2008 GOP national convention on behalf of presidential candidate John McCain. And gets it. But Jimmy Farris is special to former Washington Redskins coach Joe Gibbs. Farris, who lasted eight years with five teams in the tough NFL after playing high school football at Lewiston, contacted his old coach when he decided to run for Republican congressman Raul Labrador’s 1st District seat. Farris told Huckleberries Thursday that he talked with Gibbs’ secretary, Cindy Mangum, when he couldn’t reach his old mentor. Later, Gibbs left a phone message in which he asked Farris whether he was running as a Republican or a Democrat. Chuckling, Gibbs said that Farris would get his vote if he ran as a Republican, and he’d get secretary Cindy’s vote if he ran as a Democrat. Then, turning serious, Farris said, the coach assured him that he would support his former player/DFO, Sunday SR Huckleberries. Full column here.

Question: Can a Democrat win the 1st Congressional District seat?

HucksOnline is interviewing Democratic congressional candidate Jimmy Farris (a former professional football player who played in the NFL for 8 years with San Francisco, New England, Atlanta, Washington & Jacksonville. He's wearing a huge Super Bowl ring earned during his time with New England). You can see Farris' Web site here:

Question: Is it harder to play in the NFL than it is to run for Congress as an Idaho Democrat?

Jimmy Farris: There are a lot of parallels. I was a long shot in both situations. I was definitely an underdog to make it to the NFL out of Lewiston, Idaho. I'm average size — 6 foot, 200 pounds. But so many things that I used to achieve that goal of playing in the NFL are the exact things I'm using now to run a campaign as a Democrat in a state where I'm a long shot.

• Question: Such as what?
• Jimmy Farris: The fundamentals. Hard work. Commitment. Dedication. Passion. And a desire to strive for something that's really important to me.
• Question: Has any of your former coaches or colleagues contacted you about this race?
• Jimmy Farris: I've been in regular contact with (former Washington Redskins) Coach Joe Gibbs. I've sought his advice. We talked about what he felt was important to people, characteristics and qualities that are missing from Congress. He talked about the need for people who want to do what's right and fix problems.
• More below

A misdemeanor driving without privileges charge will be dropped against newly minted Democratic 1st District congressional candidate Jimmy Farris after Georgia officials corrected the record and confirmed Farris has a valid drivers license. Farris said he will pay an $85 speeding ticket he received on U.S. 95 just north of Lewiston as he returned from the Sept. 24 Idaho Vandal game in Moscow. Clearing the matter was important for Farris, who didn't need a misdemeanor to begin his long-shot race against 1st-term GOP Rep. Raul Labrador. Farris, a Lewiston native, moved to Meridian in August from Atlanta, where he played for the NFL Atlanta Falcons/Dan Popkey, Idaho Statesman. More here.

Question: When did you last get a speeding ticket? How fast were you going and what was the posted speed limit?

Democrats are putting their faith in a 33-year-old candidate for 1st District Congress who has cast just one ballot in his lifetime — for Barack Obama. “Oh, that’ll help him inIdaho,” snickered Jim Weatherby, the emeritus professor at Boise State who graduated from Lewiston High in 1961, 35 years before Farris. Farris had a storied against-the-odds football career. But he couldn’t be more raw as candidate, admitting he didn’t vote until 2008, the year he started paying attention to politics. “I’ve always been just so unsettled that I never had an opportunity” to vote, Farris said during a conference call with reporters Wednesday. “There was a point early on when I was in college and shortly thereafter where I just didn’t think it mattered”/Dan Popkey, Idaho Statesman. More here.

Question: Does Farris's background in the NFL make him a more attractive candidate for the Dems than he otherwise might have been?

Lewiston native Jimmy Farris overcame long odds to carve out an NFL career that spanned parts of seven seasons - and he appears to be facing a similar challenge in his latest venture. Farris announced his candidacy for Idaho's 1st Congressional District seat, which will be on the ballot in November 2012. The 33-year-old political novice will run as a Democrat. Farris, who settled in Atlanta during his playing career, moved back to Idaho in the summer and is living in Meridian. He said he came back to his native state “with the intention to get heavily involved politically”/Matt Baney, Lewiston Tribune. More here.

Question: How hard will Congressman Raul Labrador be to beat in 2012?