Rep. Sali's challenger in for a fight as Palin excites Idaho Republicans

Sign up for email newsletters now!

Never miss a McClatchy story

By Rocky Barker | Idaho Statesman

Nampa businessman Scott Faris didn't vote for John McCain in the primary and he wasn't excited about his choices in November.

But when McCain picked Idaho native Sarah Palin as his vice presidential nominee, Faris became excited.

"I'm certainly on board now," Faris said. "I think this brings more Republicans and conservatives out."

No Idaho Republican candidate has benefited from Palin's bump more than 1st Congressional District Rep. Bill Sali. Sali's Democratic challenger, Walt Minnick, was raising more money than Sali. And GOP leaders like Gov. Butch Otter were still unhappy about Sali's role in ousting state party Chairman Kirk Sullivan in June.

But Palin, a University of Idaho graduate, shares Sali's social agenda and appeals to his strongest supporters.

"You hear Sarah Palin talk about the same things that Bill Sali talks about," said Wayne Hoffman, Sali's campaign spokesman.

Read the complete story at idahostatesman.com

JOIN THE DISCUSSION

We welcome comments. To post one, you must sign in using either your McClatchyDC login or your login for Facebook, Twitter or Disqus. Just click the appropriate box below.

Please keep your comment civil, short and to the point. Obscene, profane, abusive and off topic comments will be deleted. Repeat offenders will be blocked. If you find a comment abusive or inappropriate, please flag it for the moderator by placing your cursor on the comment, then clicking the "flag" link that appears. Thanks for your participation.