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Idaho's GOP gubernatorial primary is, or was, the umpteenth proxy battle between normal, conservative Republicanism and hard-core Tea Party Republicanism. Gov. Butch Otter, a libertarian-minded two-termer, is running for his third term, and State Sen. Russ Fulcher is challenging him for—among other things—not doing his utmost to resist Obamacare. No less than Rep. Raul Labrador has endorsed Fulcher, and because there's no good polling, until next Tuesday conservatives can hold out hope of the first-ever Tea Party upset of an incumbent governor.

In the meantime, they will have to settle for the televised debate between Otter, Fulcher ... and two fringe candidates who met network guidelines. Walt Bayes, a frequent candidate who runs "to stop abortion," shared a stage with Otter, Fulcher, and Harley Brown, a biker who showed up in partial gear and keeps a list of "Harleyisms" at his campaign site. ("Register Communists, not firearms. That means domestic enemies of the United States Constitution such as Bloomberg, Schumer and Pelosi.")


