Top GOP recruit Vaughn Ward loses in Idaho primary

Top national GOP recruit Vaughn Ward on Tuesday lost his primary in Idaho after a series of missteps by his campaign, throwing the Republican Party's chances in doubt against top-targeted Rep. Walt Minnick (D-Idaho). Ward was trailing state Rep. Raul Labrador (R) 48 to 39 percent, with 90 percent of precincts reporting. The Associated Press called the race for Labrador early Wednesday. Ward becomes the latest establishment favorite to go down in defeat, although his loss will more likely be chalked up to his campaign's myriad gaffes. He was one of the first 10 candidates named to the final stage of the National Republican Congressional Committee's (NRCC) Young Guns program for its top 2010 hopefuls this cycle. Over the past month, however, his campaign has fallen victim to multiple charges of plagiarism, revelations that he didn't vote in the 2008 presidential election and a slip-up in which he said (in front of his Puerto Rican-born opponent) that Puerto Rico is a country (hint: it's not). That opponent, Labrador, moves on to the general election and leaves national Republicans to evaluate where the race fits in their list of priorities this November. Labrador, an immigration attorney, is something of a blank slate to Washington. He joined the NRCC's Young Guns program but has yet to reach the goals required to be named to the first stage of the program. Given the right candidate, the freshman Minnick's district should be at the top of the GOP's target list. It went for Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) with 62 percent of the vote in 2008, but former Rep. Bill Sali (R-Idaho) severely underperformed the top of the GOP ticket, losing narrowly to Minnick. Sali backed Labrador, while Ward was backed by former Alaska governor Sarah Palin (R). Minnick has proven a savvy congressman, voting conservative on almost all major pieces of legislation and building a sizeable war chest for 2010. Republicans can't rely on merely a good environment to take him out. In other races in Idaho on Tuesday, Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter (R) and Sen. Mike Crapo (R) both overcame nominal primary opposition, as did Rep. Mike Simpson (R-Idaho), who faced a reasonably well-funded opponent and was a Troubled Asset Relief Program (a.k.a. bailout) supporter. All will be heavy favorites in the general election. -- Aaron Blake

By The Fix | May 26, 2010; 2:55 AM ET

Categories: House

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