Kootenai incumbents likely to hang on to seats

It was a good night for incumbents in northern Kootenai County, where all three District 3 lawmakers were capturing easy victories.

Two of the races were rematches where former lawmakers fought to reclaim their jobs in the Idaho Legislature.

In probably one of the most watched races, Rep. Phil Hart, R-Athol, was fighting off a challenge by former Rep. Wayne Meyer, R-Rathdrum, with 59 percent of precincts reporting. Hart automatically gets to keep his job because there are no Democrats or third-party challengers in the November election.

Meyer blamed his likely defeat on conservative voters supporting 1st Congressional District candidate Bill Sali.

“Everyone thinks it’s the Bill Sali influence,” Meyer said. “His supporters are getting out and they are the ones who vote. Hart, Clark and Jorgenson were part of that group.”

Sen. Mike Jorgenson, R-Hayden Lake, was ahead of former Sen. Kent Bailey with 65 percent of the vote as of Tuesday night. He will go on to face Democrat Ian Stenseng in the November general election.

For the second time, Rep. Jim Clark, R-Hayden Lake, was beating Hayden City Councilwoman Jeri DeLange with 60 percent of the vote. DeLange challenged Clark in 2004, as well. Clark will vie against Democrat Bill Kersting in the November election.

“I look forward to the general election and talking about how we can get property tax relief,” Clark said.

DeLange didn’t return a phone call seeking comment Tuesday night.

Hart is a former Constitution Party member whose political philosophy is based on civil liberties and less government. He gained notoriety when he refused to pay his personal income tax for seven years. He currently is repaying that debt.

In contrast, Meyer is a Rathdrum Prairie farmer and a moderate, pro-choice Republican, serving the Legislature for 10 years. In 2005, he was diagnosed with colorectal cancer, but said he is now cancer-free.

Clark is known as a bulldog and plans to run for assistant majority leader, the third-highest leadership rank in the Idaho House. DeLange ran against him, arguing that he’s self-serving and out of touch with voters.

In the Senate race, Jorgenson gained headlines this year when he stood up against Republican leadership to speak out against a bill that would seize about $3 million in annual gas tax revenues the courts had earlier ruled belonged to the tribes. As chairman of the Idaho Council on Indian Affairs, Jorgenson is working to find a compromise before the start of the 2007 legislative session.

“Voters are telling me that they approve of what I’ve been doing,” Jorgenson said. “I’ve been listening to what they wanted.”

Bailey disagreed with Jorgenson on just about every subject and took issue with Jorgenson’s support of the Indian tribes.

Jorgenson, a former Hayden Lake City Councilman, snatched Bailey’s seat in the 2004 Republican primary.