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Butch Otter, Russ Fulcher fight for GOP vote in Idaho’s governor’s race
BOISE – Idaho Gov. Butch Otter has built a long political career on disdain for the federal government, stirring talk of freedom and encouraging Idahoans to be the “architects of our own destiny.” So the 72-year-old, a millionaire rancher who ran for Congress a decade and a half ago on a pledge to tell the feds to “butt out” of the state, seems a bit puzzled about his GOP primary challenge by a state Senate leader who maintains Otter is not conservative enough.
Idaho primary election guide: Contested races
Governor Idaho Gov. Butch Otter faces a challenge from the right within his own party, as Senate Majority Caucus Chairman Russ Fulcher takes him on in the GOP primary. There’s high interest in this contest, as Fulcher portrays himself as the more conservative candidate because he opposes the highly successful state health insurance exchange Otter championed. Otter, in his bid for a third term, says he brought the state through a deep recession and still cut taxes. There also are two other candidates on the GOP ballot, Harley Brown and Walter Bayes, both of whom have frequently run for office but received few votes. On the Democratic side, millionaire businessman and Boise School Board Chairman A.J. Balukoff is the leading candidate; his primary competitor, Terry Kerr of Idaho Falls, hasn’t campaigned and previously ran for local office as a Republican.
Raul Labrador backs Russ Fulcher for Idaho governor
BOISE – Saying Idaho Gov. Butch Otter has “lost his way,” fellow Republican and U.S. Rep. Raul Labrador endorsed the governor’s opponent, Russ Fulcher, on Monday. “Butch Otter has done a lot of things to admire in office,” Labrador said at a Statehouse news conference with Fulcher. “But after 40 years in government, he has lost his way. … Idahoans are looking for leaders with political courage and fresh ideas, and Russ Fulcher has both.”
Eye on Boise: Raul Labrador seeks labor law amendments
BOISE – Sixteen- and 17-year-olds should be able to work in mechanized logging operations under parental supervision, 1st District Congressman Raul Labrador says. He’s proposed legislation to amend the Fair Labor Standards Act to allow that, saying, “While the agriculture industry enjoys regulatory exemptions that allow family members between the ages of 16 and 17 to work under their parents’ supervision, the logging industry doesn’t have that same right.”
Rifts in North Idaho GOP seen in primaries
Republicans in North Idaho have splintered into bitterly divided factions, and some say the cracks have to close if the region’s dominant party aims to make progress on education and job creation. “We need everybody to get together,” said Patrick Whalen, a Republican who is running against state Sen. Bob Nonini, R-Coeur d’Alene, in the May 20 primary. “I don’t think we can continually split the party and succeed.”
High court candidates meet at debate
BOISE – Two candidates for the Idaho Supreme Court traded barbs and argued about the meaning of fairness for ordinary people during a televised debate Friday. Justice Joel Horton called challenger Breck Seiniger “a representative of special interests,” prompting Seiniger to retort, “I guess the special interests we’re talking about are the average, ordinary citizens like you people watching out there, who get hurt, who have a problem with the government, who have a property dispute – that’s who I represent.”
Idaho GOP lieutenant governor candidates’ views divergent
BOISE – Idaho County Commissioner Jim Chmelik would use the position of lieutenant governor the same way he’s used his county position, he said in a televised debate Friday: He’d travel the state and nation urging support for the transfer of federal public lands to the states. Chmelik is facing incumbent Lt. Gov. Brad Little in the May 20 primary election. Both are Republicans.
Idaho GOP superintendent candidates split on tests
BOISE – The four Republican candidates for Idaho state schools chief split over the new student testing program that the state is currently developing, with just one of the four backing the state’s current approach. “Our local school district has already created curriculum to meet that higher standard of the Common Core, and it would be nice to see how our students did,” said Andy Grover, superintendent of schools in Melba, in a televised debate Thursday night. “We have to have some accountability, and that accountability for the Common Core standards is the SBAC testing.”