Chenoweth Challenger Optimistic Gop Primary Opponent Paquin Runs Grass-Roots E-Mail Campaign

Tony Paquin believes he’s beating maverick U.S. Rep. Helen Chenoweth on her own turf at her own game.

The Coeur d’Alene entrepreneur boldly insists he has made inroads with enough former Chenoweth supporters to defeat the two-term Idaho congresswoman in next May’s Republican primary.

“I’ve got the right message. I’m the right person. It’s the right time,” Paquin said in an interview Monday.

Paquin, founder of a North Idaho computer business that employed 125 people before he sold it in 1993, and John Hale, a high-tech entrepreneur from Moscow and Idaho Falls, both are expected to challenge Chenoweth in May.

Paquin says his strategy has been simple: Meet or contact at least 35,000 people and get them to commit to voting for him.

He says he’s reaching his goal through petition drives and a grass-roots computer-generated electronic-mail campaign.

“That (computer) crowd likes me,” he said. “They tend to be libertarian and tend to be higher-educated. I do well in that environment.”

Paquin points out that in 1996, Chenoweth’s primary challenger, Nampa physician Bill Levinger, spent most of his campaign in a psychiatric ward but still drew 32 percent of the vote.

“Her approval rating is low,” he said.

But Chenoweth supporters contend Paquin desperately is trying to get his name out any way he can.

“I think it’s salesman spiel,” said Graham Paterson, director of strategic information with the Chenoweth for Congress campaign.

Paterson argues Paquin can’t even raise enough money to make his candidacy credible. He points out that while Chenoweth raised $87,000 between January and June, Paquin didn’t file a campaign finance disclosure report.

“The administrative rules say if you raise or spend more than $5,000, you have to file one,” Paterson said. “If he was in compliance with the law, that means he did not spend or raise even that - which is indicative of a weak candidacy.”

Paquin said Monday he has hired a top GOP fund-raiser in Washington, D.C., and has promised not to take money from political action committees. About a third of Chenoweth’s support comes from PACs.

Paterson also says comparisons to Chenoweth’s 1996 race don’t wash. At that time, Democrats crossed party lines to vote for Levinger because his candidacy was something of a joke, he said.

“Levinger was the perfect NOTA vote - None of the Above,” Paterson said. “There isn’t one this time.”

Democrats won’t likely do the same for Paquin or Hale, Paterson says. And if Democrats do cross over, Hale and Paquin likely would split the anti-Chenoweth vote.

Paterson wouldn’t speak to Paquin’s claim of Chenoweth’s low approval rating. Nor would Paterson direct a reporter to anyone inside or outside her campaign who has been tracking Chenoweth’s approval rating among Idaho voters.

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Color Photo