HBO & Jim Risch — Questions 6-10

6. Independent Rex Rammell decided to run after you ordered a number of his straying farmed elk to be shot. Do you still stand by that decision?

JR: That decision was not made lightly. When I took the oath of office, I took the oath seriously. One of the things I swore to do was to protect Idaho as best I could. Had any of those elk communicated a disease to our wild elk herd or compromised the genetic purity of our wild elk herd, I wouldn’t have been able to sleep at night. If the question is would I have done it again because of the political ramifications, the answer is — that would have had no effect on my decision.