Idaho ‘ground zero’ as rift in GOP moves from Congress to campaign trail

Idaho’s not only getting national attention for the gripping back-country manhunt that rescued a 16-year-old California girl from her kidnapper over the weekend, and for the wildly spreading wildfires now threatening hundreds of homes. It’s our politics, too. Politico today called Idaho “ground zero” for what it describes as a proxy fight for a rift in the national GOP, writing, “The tensions dividing Republicans in Congress are now spilling onto the campaign trail.” The article highlights 2 ^nd District GOP Rep. Mike Simpson’s primary challenge from Idaho Falls attorney Bryan Smith, who the Club for Growth is claiming credit for recruiting to run. It notes that House Speaker John Boehner will visit Boise later this month to headline a fundraiser for Simpson; you can read the article here .

Politico says the 2014 midterm elections “will likely feature a long list of primaries in which House and Senate incumbents will encounter significant threats from insurgent challengers,” though it predicts the vast majority of the incumbents will win.