Idaho GOP, Dems setting up ground game in key districts

Here’s a full report from AP reporter Kimberlee Kruesi:

BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Idaho only has a handful of competitive legislative races in the upcoming general election, but party officials on both sides are prepping for heated battles in key legislative districts across the state.

The state’s Republican Party recently announced the launch of four field offices, a new tactic for the Gem State’s majority party. Two of those are based in northern Idaho with the hope of ousting one of Idaho’s legislative minority leaders and picking up a few more Republican seats as well.

In 2014, House Minority Leader John Rusche — a six-term Democrat from Lewiston — defeated his Republican opponent by roughly 50 votes. The Idaho Republican Party has since hired a director to oversee a field office in Rusche’s district with the hope of wooing independent voters.

“We want to set up shop to make sure our base turns out and vote for our candidates,” said David Johnston, executive director of the state GOP. “We have a real shot at winning all three of those seats. We are going to compete and we are going to win.”

Other field offices have been established in Moscow for District 5, as well as in Hailey for District 26. The GOP also plans on announcing another field office in Boise’s District 15 next week, Johnston said. All of those districts have competitive Democrats running against incumbent Republicans or running for an open seat with GOP opponents.

Campaign field offices can serve as effective base camps for door-to-door canvassing and other tactics that target voter turnout. In 2008, President Barack Obama’s win in the presidential election was credited in part to his campaign team’s wide use of field offices. Idaho’s GOP has largely ignored using them in the past, but new leadership over the past two years has switched how the party is competing in tight races.

However, officials with Idaho’s Democratic Party say they won’t be using field offices. Instead, the minority party — which has fewer resources given Democrats’ smaller presence in Idaho — is pointing to the strength of their candidates and the work they have thrown into their own individual campaigns in rallying the volunteers and voters.

“We’ve been training candidates since last fall, our candidates know they have to work harder than the Republicans and that’s exactly what they are doing,” said Dean Ferguson, the state’s Democratic Party spokesman.

Ferguson added that the presidential election, which has caused a push for anti-establishment rhetoric, could encourage voters to stray from supporting GOP candidates.

“We’ve planned picking up seats this year and we expect to expand this year,” he said. “We can grow each election cycle and our goal is to put some balance into Idaho’s government.”