The other two leading candidates are former Idaho Republican Chairman Ron McMurray and local Republican leader Craig Benjamin. Both have appeared in numerous televised debates and forums with Otter and Mansfield. He argues that he is the only Republican in the race with appeal to both the state party establishment and Christian conservatives - two camps in which Otter and Mansfield have concentrated their efforts. Democrats Cast Pall There will be no primary on the Democratic side, where attorney Linda Pall is unopposed and poised to take on Tuesday's winner. But Pall faces an uphill battle in November in a primarily rural district with a clear conservative bent.
Republicans tend to dominate elections on both the state and national level.
The 1st is not completely immune to Democratic competition. GOP Sows a Safe 2nd Democrats Jack Chappell and Craig Williams will run in Tuesday's Democratic primary for the unlikely chance to unseat freshman Republican Mike Simpson in the overwhelmingly conservative 2nd District. Simpson's broad appeal and the district's Republican tilt helped him win by an 8 percentage-point margin in 1998 over conservative Democratic former Rep. Richard Stallings, who was regarded as the Democrats' strongest possible candidate. Simpson is heavily favored to win re-election to a second term. A retired fighter pilot, Williams has never run for public office before.