Vaughn Ward and Raul Labrador, who are vying for the GOP nomination for Idaho’s 1st District congressional seat, have much in common, though they’re locked in a contentious and sometimes bitter contest for the nod in Idaho’s May 25 primary election. Both are barely past age 40, with photogenic good looks and attractive young families. Both came from modest means and were raised largely by single mothers. Both speak in forceful, idealistic terms about public service when they talk about running for Congress. Both are staking out the conservative end of the political spectrum. My story profiling the race is in Sunday's Spokesman-Review; here's a link.

Also coming in Sunday's S-R, my Handle Extra column takes a look at the contested race for the Idaho Supreme Court between Justice Roger Burdick and 2nd District Judge John Bradbury. Of note: Oddly, in this nonpartisan race, Idaho's system means that the final decision in the Burdick-Bradbury race will happen in a low-turnout election that's dominated by each party's most-committed partisans. Idaho's primaries typically see less than half the voter turnout of the general election, and the primary turnout has been falling each election for the past decade; in 2008, just 25 percent of registered voters cast votes in the primary, down from 33.4 percent in 2000. Here's a link.

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