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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Eye On Boise

Otter, Fulcher ponder the future of Idaho’s GOP

Idaho Gov. Butch Otter told Boise State Public Radio this week that the May 20 primary election for governor “is about the heart and soul of the Republican Party, as well as about what kind of a champion the Republican Party wants going into November.” Otter faces a GOP primary challenge from Senate Majority Caucus Chairman Russ Fulcher; BSPR is airing extended interviews with both this week. You can listen to their Otter interview here, and their Fulcher interview here, both with host Scot Graf; each full interview runs close to 18 minutes.

Otter decried the split in Idaho’s Republican Party. “Those people that I only agree with 80 percent of the time are not my enemy,” he said. “I think the Republican Party in Idaho for the future needs to focus on our problems instead of those things that we disagree with all the time. There’s a lot of things that we agree on.”

Fulcher, who’s staked out a campaign appealing to tea party supporters, told BSPR, “There’s no question … there is a divide in our party and it’s splintered significantly. The general argument is should we be a bigger tent and really not take that much stock in adhering to what our platform philosophy is, or should we shrink that tent down and have kind of some truth in advertising.” He said, “I consider myself a mainstream candidate. … If you take a look at my positions, every single one is in line with the Republican Party platform in its entirety."



Betsy Z. Russell
Betsy Z. Russell joined The Spokesman-Review in 1991. She currently is a reporter in the Boise Bureau covering Idaho state government and politics, and other news from Idaho's state capital.

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