Parting Shot — 10/6/08

Matt Cilley/AP
Walt Minnick, shown fly fishing in More’s Creek near Boise in July, is casting himself as a conservative against first-term Rep. Bill Sali, R-Idaho, in Idaho’s 1st Congressional District covering western and northern Idaho. Minnick, raised on a wheat farm in Walla Walla, Wash., ran wood-products company Trus Joist International for 16 years and co-founded SummerWinds Garden Centers with 11 locations in Arizona, California and Nevada.

Question: Has Walt Minnick done enough to separate himself from the more liberal policies of the national Democratic Party and portray himself as a reasonable conservative alternative to Congressman Bill Sali?