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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

U.S. Representative

Election Results

Candidate Votes Pct
Raul Labrador (R) 143,528 65.01%
Shirley Ringo (D) 77,253 34.99%

* Race percentages are calculated with data from the Secretary of State's Office, which omits write-in votes from its calculations when there are too few to affect the outcome. The Spokane County Auditor's Office may have slightly different percentages than are reflected here because its figures include any write-in votes.

About The Race

Republican U.S. Rep. Raul Labrador is seeking a third term in the House. He faces a challenge from longtime state Rep. Shirley Ringo, D-Moscow. Labrador is a tea party favorite who was unopposed in the GOP primary this year; Ringo has long been one of the most liberal members of the Idaho House. She is retiring from the Legislature this year as she takes on Labrador; he’s vastly outraised her, and the campaign has been low-key.

The Candidates

Raul Labrador

Party:
Republican
Age:
56
City:
Eagle, Idaho
Occupation:
Incumbent congressman

Education: Earned bachelor’s degree from Brigham Young University and a law degree from the University of Washington.

Work experience: Immigration attorney

Political experience: Three-term congressman. Co-founder of the “Freedom Caucus” in the House, a group of conservatives who successfully engineered the ouster of then-House Speaker John Boehner. Ran unsuccessfully for House majority leader in 2014. Served two terms in the Idaho state House.

Family: Married. Has five children.

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Shirley Ringo

Party:
Democratic
City:
Moscow, Idaho
Occupation:
Retired teacher

Retired high school math teacher, seven-term state representative. In the Legislature, Ringo was a vocal opponent of the voter-rejected Students Come First school reform laws, pushed for reforms to the state Tax Commission and sponsored successful legislation to allow domestic violence victims to vote without disclosing their home addresses.

Complete Coverage

President Obama promotes economic plan in Idaho

BOISE – President Barack Obama wanted to make a statement by picking Republican-dominated Idaho for his first public appearance after his State of the Union. “There’s not a liberal America or a conservative America, but a United States of America,” he told the cheering crowd Wednesday at Boise State University.

Labrador statement welcomes Obama to state, says he ‘could benefit from listening to Idahoans’

Idaho GOP Rep. Raul Labrador has issued a statement welcoming President Obama to Boise, saying he thinks the president “could benefit from listening to Idahoans.” Here’s his full statement: “I welcome President Obama to our great state today. I wish him well as he speaks…

Why Labrador voted ‘present’

None

Idaho removes Raul Labrador campaign donation link

BOISE – The state of Idaho on Wednesday removed a link to a campaign donation page for GOP Rep. Raul Labrador, saying it was on the state website mistakenly, in place of a link to Labrador’s official congressional website. Daily Kos, a liberal political website, noted the link in an article Wednesday morning, suggesting the state was improperly using its website to drum up donations for Labrador. Less than an hour after Gov. Butch Otter’s office was alerted to the issue by a Spokesman-Review reporter, the link had been changed.

Eye on Boise: Legislators hope for resolution on broadband network

State lawmakers are growing concerned about the broadband network that serves high schools across the state, after a judge Nov. 10 voided a $60 million contract for the Idaho Education Network, ruling it was issued illegally. “At the end of the day, this is an important thing,” said House Speaker Scott Bedke, R-Oakley. “We need to get a new contract as quickly as possible and keep the service up and going during the school year. You have school districts that are dependent on this service, they’re in the middle of a term, and … the less disruption the better here, on our way to a new contract that addresses the issues that have been raised.”

Candidates clash in congressional debate…

None

Labrador introduces bill restricting military surplus program

Idaho’s 1st District U.S. Rep. Raul Labrador wants to restrict surplus military equipment from going to state and local law enforcement agencies, saying local police shouldn’t be militarized. “Our nation was founded on the principle of a clear line between the military and civilian policing,” said Labrador, a Republican, who introduced legislation Tuesday that would prohibit sending military surplus to the nation’s civilian police forces. “The Pentagon’s current surplus property program blurs that line by introducing a military model of overwhelming force in our cities and towns. Our bill would restore the focus of local law enforcement on protecting citizens and providing due process for the accused.”