Outsiders Challenge Idaho Political Giants

Did you know that U.S. Senator Kim Risch and Governor Brad Little have primary opponents?  Several challengers have come forward and explained that God told them to run.  This is how the Lord humbles his people.  But I’m told running for office is a good experience, despite being quixotic and humbling for most.  While the challengers are underfunded and not well-known, some can still impact policy, even if they don’t get close in votes.

Challengers Can Change Law and Policy

In 1994, there was a campaign for Governor in New York State.  Radio jock Howard Stern found himself with the Libertarian Party nomination.  One of the ideas he proposed was to move highway construction to overnights to avoid snarling rush hour traffic.  He won a little over 50,000 votes.  Nowhere near enough to influence the outcome, but not long afterward, his construction plan became reality.  I was driving through upstate New York on my way to Vermont on Interstate 87, about 11:00 P.M. on one summer night.  Suddenly, there were bright lights and warning signs.  I slowed down and passed through a construction site.

This has had an Impact

I’m not advocating we do the same, but illustrating how one idea can interest voters, and in turn legislators, and eventually become policy.  Risch and Little may easily dispatch opponents, but a healthy showing for a candidate can get the attention of policymakers.  When Ammon Bundy was a candidate for Governor four years ago, much of what he proposed was aspirational.  He believed that if some of what he suggested was adopted, it would be a victory.