Rep. Mike Simpson raised $163,716 between April and June and had $229,011 in cash on hand at the end of last month.  That’s more than first-term Rep. Raul Labrador, who raised $93,469 and had $102,616 on hand at the end of June.

Both Simpson and Labrador raised significant sums from outside the state and from political action committees (PACs), which are campaign organizations associated with companies, trade associations or interest groups.  Close to $1 out of every $3 raised by Labrador came from an Idahoan, while only $1 out of every $20 given to Simpson came from an Idahoan.

Simpson campaign staffer Zach Hauge said that while the campaign finance report shows a lot of money coming from outside the state, it represents Idaho interests.  “Many trade organizations and businesses are headquartered outside of Idaho,” he said. “For example, we received a contribution from the REALTOR PAC, while the check is addressed from Chicago, the basis for that support lies with-in the thousands of REALTOR members that reside here in Idaho.”

“There’s like-minded people through the United States who recognize that Congressman Labrador is strong on conservative issues and they want to help out,” said Jake Ball, Labrador’s district director.

Both congressman had several notable contributors.  Each received money from Republican former Sen. Steve Symms, with Simpson also receiving money from Democratic former Rep. Larry LaRocco, who served Idaho for four years in the 1990s.  Labrador also received $5,000 from the owners of the Scentsy candle company, who live in Eagle, and $3,500 from Koch Industries, which donates to many conservative and libertarian causes and is seen as a rival to George Soros, who often donates to liberal organizations.

Rep. Raul Labrador

Several PACs that gave to Labrador has previously given to former Rep. Walt Minnick, who Labrador defeated last year.  Those groups include National Association of Realtors, Farm Credit Council and Honeywell, an aerospace company.

Labrador also received $10,500 from people living in Puerto Rico.  He visited the island where he was born in April to fundraise, meet local officials and visit family, Ball said.

Current and former candidates for the U.S. House with active campaign accounts are required to file quarterly updates with the Federal Election Commission, as well as more frequent updates during election years.  Among other reports filed were $4,030 raised by Norm Semanko, who lost to former Rep. Bill Sali in 2006 and is now the chairman of the Idaho Republican Party.

Semanko told IdahoReporter.com that he’s not building up for another congressional bid, but he’s closed the books on his 2006 race by raising funds to repay $37,500 in loans he made to his own campaign.

“The campaign has completely paid back that loan,” Semanko said.  “It’s kind of nice to put this thing to bed.”  Semanko is running this year to be mayor of Eagle, where he currently sits on the City Council.  That race isn’t subject to FEC reports.

Statewide officeholders and candidates must send campaign finance reports on their activity so far in 2011 to the Idaho secretary of state by the end of the month.  Only Secretary of State Ben Ysursa has turned in a report so far.  He reported no contributions, though he gave Gov. Butch Otter’s campaign a $1,000 gift.

“We’re going to get more and more people interested in the legislative process, and that’s only good for the people of Idaho,” said Nancy Berto of Boise, who helped lead the recall effort after protesting Luna’s legislative plans.  “I think there was a lot of apathy in the last election, and that’s why people were elected who shouldn’t have been.”

The recall group reported gathering 50,000 signatures to force a special election for Luna, but needed more than 150,000.  They also fell far short of the 4,725 signatures for recalling Boise Republicans Rep. Julie Ellsworth and Sen. Mitch Toryanski, who voted for Luna’s plan.

Berto said she thought those signature requirements, in a 75-day span, were too tough, and wants lawmakers to look at lowering the bar.  “I think it is too high,” she said.  “If they’re going to raise it that high, they need to give us more time to collect signatures.”

Luna released a statement saying that he’s focused on the education reforms, which face a public vote on next November’s ballot.  “Opponents of the laws have tried to make it personal,” Luna said. “Reforming education has never been about me; it’s about giving our students more opportunities.”

Though the recall effort targeted three Republicans, organizers said the effort wasn’t a partisan battle.  “We have never been financed by any union, political party, special interests groups, business, or corporate entity,” said recall leader Morgan Hill Jr.

Hill also released an unofficial list of donors to the recall effort on Sunday.  The list showed $4,372 in contributions.  The largest single donation being a $250 check written by former GOP gubernatorial candidate Ron “Pete” Peterson, who was one of several people at a news conference Monday wearing a blue “Recall Luna” shirt.

However, the Idaho Democratic Party publicized recall events on its websites, though field director Sally Boynton Brown said the party offered informal support.  “As Democrats, we all want to support democracy,” Brown said.  Brown and Hill also worked together on Keith Allred’s campaign for governor.

“We are grateful that the efforts we engaged in were successful in beating back the recall petitions,” Idaho Republican Party Chairman Norm Semanko said in a statement.  “This is a huge blow to the anti-education reform establishment.”

“You can’t draw the lines sooner or later without some Republicans running against Republicans,” said Idaho Democratic Party Chairman Larry Grant. He and his Republican counterpart, Norm Semanko, spoke Monday at the City Club of Boise about redistricting and other political topics. Grant said the redistricting commission could end up throwing some sitting GOP lawmakers under the bus, but said Democratic-friendly districts are compact and likely to stay intact.

“Redistricting doesn’t win elections, but it does set what the boundaries will look like for your legislators,” Semanko said. He disagreed with Grant, saying Latah and Nez Perce counties in north Idaho, both of which elected Democrats to the Legislature, have grown at a slower rate than the rest of the state. “They can’t just do their one county as a legislative district anymore,” Semanko said.

Grant and Semanko each get to pick a member of the six-person redistricting commission. The Republican and Democratic leaders of the Idaho House and Senate also get to name a commissioner. Democrats have already named their three appointees to the redistricting commission, and Semanko said Republicans will do so before the first commission meeting on June 7.

“Good things come to those who wait,” said Semanko.

Grant appointed George Moses from Boise, a union political coordinator who worked on Grant’s campaigns for office and served in the Air Force in Vietnam.

“Our goal is a map that meets our legal obligation,” Moses told IdahoReporter.com.

The six commissioners have some guidelines for their redistricting plan. They must make between 30 and 35 districts of roughly equal population — a 10 percent difference has been the maximum legal cut off – and keep counties intact when possible. The commission is also supposed to keep communities of interest within a district. If several counties are combined for a district, they are supposed to be linked by a major road.

Moses said he’s not as concerned about which party or lawmakers benefit from the chosen map, but that cities and communities aren’t sliced up into different districts. “It doesn’t make much sense to me to cut a city into halves or thirds when you don’t have to,” he said. “Why would you do that?”

The Democrats also appointed Julie Kane, an attorney for the Nez Perce tribe in north central Idaho, and Allen Anderson, a former House member and Idaho State University math professor. Moses said Democrats haven’t yet drawn a map that they’ll all support, a move some Republicans say will likely come from their party before the commission starts meeting.

“I’ve heard the rumors that our brethren are going to come in with a plan and that’s their story and their sticking with it,” Moses said. He has used the online Maptitude redistricting software and said he ran into some bugs that required help from state legislative staff.

The Maptitude software is open to the public, with 180 people signing up to start drawing their own legislative boundaries, according to Keith Bybee with the Legislative Services Office. “I’m excited about that,” Bybee said.

So far, five completed maps have been submitted to the commission. Moses promised to look at all the maps sent in by the public. “Every submission’s going to get considered,” he said. “Some will be more useful than others.”

Moses said he expects to see maps with 30 legislative districts, which would shrink the size of the Legislature by 15 members, but said he didn’t have an opinion on that change.

The redistricting commission is scheduled to meet from June 7-9 in Boise before holding meetings in other parts of the state. Once it starts meeting, the commission has 90 days to submit a redistricting plan, which Moses and Secretary of State Ben Ysursa say is likely to be challenged in court because of opposition from someone who disagrees with the plan.

The legislation for closed primaries follows a successful lawsuit by the Idaho Republican Party, which convinced a federal judge that Idaho’s open primaries, which let voters pick any party’s ballot, violated its constitutional right to assemble. On Monday, budget writers also agreed to repay some of the GOP’s attorney fees.

The Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee (JFAC) agreed to pay the Idaho Republican Party $100,000 to cover lawyers’ fees for the lawsuit striking down open primaries. The state owed the GOP those costs as a result of the GOP’s victory. State GOP Executive Director Jonathan Parker said the actual attorney costs were closer to $143,000, but the party and the state government agreed to the smaller payment.  The money for the GOP comes from the state general fund.

The closed primary “will also allow independent voters to join the Republican Party at anytime, providing a great opportunity for us to continue to attract and recruit like-minded folks to the cause,” party chairman Norm Semanko said on the party’s website.  He said he supports implementing the legislation before next year’s primary.

The legislation would require Semanko or other state party chairmen to notify the secretary of state six months before a primary if the party would allow unaffiliated voters or voters who identify with a different party to cast a vote in their party’s primary.

Idaho Democratic Party State Chair Larry Grant said his party supports open primaries. “The more people who vote, the better candidates you get,” Grant said. He also said that while Semanko and other Republican officials say they welcome independents, that may not hold true next year.

“This is just slight of hand and a nod to the independents,” Grant told IdahoReporter.com. “This is probably just a head fake.” Grant also said he expects Democratic lawmakers to stand up for voters and oppose the closed primaries and party registration system.

State GOP Executive Director Jonathan Parker said the party’s central committee would likely vote on how to handle independent voters. “we want those like-minded folks to join the Republican Party,” Parker said. “We just don’t want Democrats crossing over and negatively impacting our elections.”

The new plan was introduced Monday in the Senate State Affairs Committee. For next year’s primaries, it would instruct county clerks to add check off boxes to their poll book to ask all current registered voters to declare a party affiliation, which would include being unaffiliated. Party registration would also become part of new voter registration cards.

If a party allows unaffiliated Idahoans to vote in its primary, a poll worker would need to check off a box in the poll book saying which party’s ballot a voter receives. Voters’ party registration or party choice in a primary election would become public record. Idaho currently doesn’t ask or keep track of such information.

Down the road, voters could switch parties or declare themselves unaffiliated, but they’d need to inform county clerks of those changes more than two months before the primary election, on the deadline for candidates to declare for a primary race.

Party registration and the closed primary system carry a $215,000 price tag to the state for new voter registration cards and a voter information ad campaign and $160,000 cost to the counties for more poll workers and processing new voter data.

The new primary and party registration system next faces a full Senate committee. It’s part of the “going home list” that lawmakers put a high priority on during the last few days of the legislative session. The $100,000 payment to the Idaho Republican Party must be approved by the Idaho House and Senate.

Rep. Judy Boyle, R-Midvale, capped the spirited proceedings with a scolding of the representatives of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFW) who were on hand.
 The federal agency last fall declared roughly  three-quarters of the state – including 8,772 stream miles and 170,218 acres of lakes and reservoirs – as critical habitat. The habitat includes parts of Washington, Oregon, and Montana. Some 900 miles of designated streams don’t have any bull tout trout in them, but they are designated because they could in the future.

“This appears to be a job protection program for federal agencies and a job killer for Idaho,” Boyle said.

The governor’s office has said it is thinking about suing the government over the designation, if the government doesn’t agree to re-do the plan, basically.

Brian Kelly, supervisor of the federal fish and wildlife service Idaho office, said his agency considered potential economic impacts when creating the designation and found business would hardly be affected.
 Ted Cook, USFW’s top bull trout man in the region, told questioning representatives that indeed the agency considered the potential economic consequences.

“We found little impact in Idaho,” Cook said.

The agency has estimated costs of $5-7 million per year for the changes that the designation causes. 
Nate Fisher, administrator of Gov. Butch Otter’s Office of Species Conservation, said the figure is a “gross underestimate.” 
Norm Semanko, executive director of the Idaho Water Users Association, told the committee that the government did not consider potential costs to many types of water users, including cattle ranchers and cities.
 Conservation groups say the state is sounding the alarm unnecessarily.

”We question that doomsday scenario,” said Jonathan Oppenheimer of the Idaho Conservation League. “Really the designation of critical habitat raised the bar a little bit (but) we don’t really see a huge change.”

The federal government first set critical habitat in the early 2000s, following the listing of the bull trout on the endangered species list in 1998. Environmental groups sued the government in 2005 back, saying that critical habitat areas designated that  were not extensive enough. Back and forth action since then led to the new designation last fall.

Water users fear the designation could impact irrigation, power generation, and new dam building, particularly in the Boise River Basin. Costly modifications to land and property and permitting could also come about, they fear. 
But nothing big has happened yet, so it’s not likely to, the federal officials argued.
 Semanko responded: “Maybe the risk is low, but the cost, if triggered, is huge.”

“It’s just this overarching, overbearing, overwhelming designation,” said Nate Fisher, administrator of the Governor’s Office of Species Conservation.

The critical habitat areas established last fall by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service designates 8,772 stream miles and 170,218 acres of lakes and reservoirs in the state as critical habitat. The rule came following input from interests across the board, including the state. Fisher said the feds flat out ignored the state’s input.

“The final rule included everything possible, everything even remotely feasible. It was breathtaking in scope and it was alarming in its complete and utter dismissal of the state of Idaho,” Fisher said.

The federal government first set critical habitat in the early 2000s, following the listing of the bull trout on the endangered species list in 1998. Environmental groups sued the government back then, saying that areas designated were not extensive enough. Back and forth action since then led to the new designation last fall.

Water users fear the designation could result in new restrictions on irrigation, power generation, and new dam building, particularly in the Boise River Basin.

“This new designation simply could not be much worse for Idaho water,” said Norm Semanko, Idaho WaterUsers Association executive director, last fall in the Idaho Statesman. He could not be reached for this story.

“We feel that it (the designation) was arrived at by the use of sound science with ample opportunity for public agency and state feedback,” said Liz Paul, Boise River campaign coordinator with Idaho Rivers United. “Idaho Rivers United thinks that the state is doing a little grandstanding on this issue and is not exhibiting a full understanding of the role of critical habitat designation.”

Paul did commend Idaho Fish and Game Department for helping bull trout establish a “robust” population across the state since the 1990s.

Jonathan Oppenheimer, senior conservation associate with the Idaho Conservation League, said the federal designation was well thought out and that his organization doesn’t buy the dire economic consequences resulting from the designation predicted by water users (Semanko has said the designation could cost $1 billion.) 
”We question that doomsday scenario,” Oppenheimer said. “Really the designation of critical habitat raised the bar a little bit (but) we don’t really see a huge change.”

Fisher counters: “They really don’t see any more restrictions on land use. The concern that we have is that it opens the door to potential lawsuits.”

Fisher said a timeline has not been set on a decision to sue the feds in order to put the designation on hold and force reconsideration of the habitat designation.

Read Semanko’s statement below.

Idaho Republican Party State Chairman Norm Semanko issued the following statement in response to the Idaho Democratic Party’s attack on Governor Otter and Superintendent Luna’s education reform proposals:

“Last week Governor Otter and Superintendent Luna introduced a comprehensive package to educate more students at a higher level with limited resources.  While student achievement continues to progress in Idaho, one-third of our schools are still not meeting our high academic goals, and more than half of Idaho students do not go on to post-secondary education after high school.  Furthermore, the current system is fiscally unsustainable. Governor Otter and Superintendent Luna’s plan, titled “Students Come First,” boldly sets out to change the current system.

However, the opposition has already started mounting a campaign against this crucial change.  On Friday, the Idaho Democratic Party came out against Governor Otter and Superintendent Luna’s plan asking, “…why should any parent, student or voter put the slightest faith in any idea proffered by the architect of such failure?” and saying the plan may include “ ’new’ ideas but they certainly are not good ideas.”  Sherri Wood, the head of the teacher’s union, called the plan “draconian.”

Sadly, the Idaho Democratic Party, which once succeeded in electing individuals to statewide office, has withered away into a wholly-owned subsidiary of the teacher’s union. The party is so out of touch, and so beholden to the teacher’s union bosses, that it now sits well to the left of President Barack Obama on education issues.

Semanko was selected as the state party chairman in 2008, easily winning re-election earlier this year.  He also serves on the Eagle City Councilman and is the executive director of the Idaho Water Users Association (IWUA).  Semanko is also a registered lobbyist for the IWUA.

Read the RNC’s news release below.

RNC ANNOUNCES NORM SEMANKO AS GENERAL COUNSEL

WASHINGTON –Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman Michael Steele today announced the appointment of Idaho Republican Party Chairman Norman M. Semanko as RNC General Counsel:

“I am delighted to have someone with not only the legal and political acumen that Norm possesses, but also someone who has invaluable experience serving as a state party chairman and member of RNC Budget Committee,” said RNC Chairman Michael Steele. “His exceptional qualifications will ensure the committee’s sound legal footing and make sure that the resources are in place to continue to build on this year’s historic elections.”

Norm Semanko, whose appointment is subject to RNC confirmation, has served as Chairman of the Idaho Republican Party since 2008 and was unanimously reelected in 2010. He is a member of the Republican National Committee, was a delegate to the 2008 Republican National Convention, serves as a member of the RNC Ethics Committee, and is an elected member of the RNC Budget Committee, representing the Western Region. Norm is a graduate of Georgetown University Law Center, where he served as Student Bar Association Vice President and was a member of the Craven Constitutional Law Moot Court team. The RNC General Counsel is a volunteer, unpaid position.

Crane easily won his re-election, facing no opponents in his bid to continue serving as the state’s chief financial and investment offer, but his sentiments were similar to other Idaho Republican officials at an event the party called a “victory rally” in a news release sent out on election day, before the polls closed.

Republicans fared well on Idaho ballots, holding onto all seven statewide offices, regaining control of Idaho’s 1st Congressional District, adding seats in the Idaho House and holding steady in the Senate.

Norm Semanko, the chairman of the state GOP, called Tuesday’s election the biggest victory in the history of Idaho Republican politics. He said the margins of victory for Sen. Mike Crapo and Rep. Mike Simpson looked like the scores of Boise State University football games.

Gov. Butch Otter said the Republican-controlled government would continue its style from the last four years as a government that’s constitutionally principled, fiscally responsible, and emphasizes its state sovereignty.

House Speaker Lawerence Denney, R-Midvale, said the Republican victories may not lead to much change in state policies. “I suspect it will be more of the same ,” he said when asked about new issues the House would take up. “The outcome of this election was not a surprise to me.”

House Majority Caucus Chair Ken Roberts, R-Donnelly, said Republicans will also look at spending on programs such as education and health and welfare that could be funded during an economic boom, but not during down times.

Roberts also said he wants to loosen regulations and taxes on businesses. “You just take any industry you want … all the regulations drive the cost of business up,” he said.

One prominent campaign issue Roberts and Denney said they aren’t eager to tackle is sales tax exemptions. Those exemptions total $1.7 billion in the current budget, more than the the $1.1 billion that the 6 percent sales tax generates.

“We’ve looked at them for five years,” Roberts said. “The exemptions that are in place warranted them when they were still in, and for the most part they still warrant them.” He also said that the largest exemptions, on things like medical services, construction, and production equipment, should stay in place.

The Republican wins in Idaho echo the party’s gains across the country. The GOP gained control of the U.S. House and picked up the majority in 19 state legislatures across the U.S., according to Ballotpedia.

Jabs continued in news releases after the debate at Idaho State University in Idaho Falls.

Allred blasted Otter for not giving more money to school districts.  ”If you vote for Butch Otter, you’ll get more of the same,” said Allred. “I’m not satisfied with overcrowded schools. I’m not satisfied with four-day school weeks. I’m not satisfied with students who have to share textbooks.”

Allred repeatedly stressed public education is a requirement of the Idaho Constitution.  ”As governor, I’ll focus on Idaho’s priorities, just like Idaho’s Founding Fathers directed: I’ll make a thorough system of public instruction a priority of my administration.”

Otter accused Allred of misleading voters by selecting parts of the Idaho Constitution he chose to quote.  He repeatedly reminded his challenger that the Constitution also requires the Legislature to balance the budget and not go into debt.

Idaho Republican Party chairman Norm Semanko slammed Allred for saying that he would work with the federal government within the confines of recently-passed health care reforms to create a state-run health care system.  ”As Gov. Otter stood up for states’ rights, including opposition to the mandates of President Obama’s health care monstrosity and the dictates of the federal Endangered Species Act, Allred lectured the crowd about the virtues of trying to cut deals with the federal government instead.”

The GOP chairman said the difference between Otter and Allred on education spending is the governor and state lawmakers made difficult, but necessary, cuts in 2010.  ”Throughout the debate, Gov. Otter’s experience and understanding that to balance a budget, you don’t spend more than you take in, stood in sharp contrast to Allred’s open checkbook philosophy,” said Semanko.

The two men will debate several more times before the general election.  According to the latest Rasmussen Reports poll July 21, Otter leads Allred 53-36, though his lead slipped by a few percentage points in the months running up to July.  An independently commissioned poll released this week shows Otter with a 46-36 lead, with 14 percent of respondents undecided.