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Posts published in “Day: August 4, 2023”

DeSantis and the Idaho campaign

National pundits are largely unified around the idea that former President Donald Trump is so far ahead in support for the Republican nomination for his previous office that none of the other contenders stand much chance of catching him. I won’t argue that as of now, indictments notwithstanding, that seems an accurate assessment.

If the current trajectory holds, the Republican nomination could be a done deal by the time any Idaho Republicans get to vote on it, whether in primary or caucus.

But that doesn’t mean Idaho and the Republican battle for the presidential nomination are unconnected, at least this year. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has been on the air this year with radio spots in Idaho, and his campaign would have reasons.

He does have cheerleaders in Idaho. One of them may be the Idaho Freedom Foundation, which in January delivered an opinion piece on university spending in Florida - referencing DeSantis’ policy there - and concluding, “So, bravo to DeSantis and company for showing bold leadership in the Sunshine State. Let’s hope we will see some of that here in Idaho soon.” The group has offered other laudatory comments (making the case that DeSantis is a better governor than Idaho’s Brad Little) as well.

This can be taken as an indication that significant portions of Idaho’s state Republican Party leadership may be (or may have been) drawn toward DeSantis, given how close many of them (and many legislators as well)  are to the Foundation. There’s also a personal Idaho link to the DeSantis campaign: former Idaho Deputy Attorney General David Dewhirst this spring left to work for DeSantis.

From the national perspective, a DeSantis strategist logically might look at which states Trump lost in his nomination battle in 2016 (effectively unopposed in 2020, he won them all then). Eight years ago, Idaho was one of the holdouts: Texas Senator Ted Cruz romped in the Gem State, and it wasn’t close (45.4 percent to 28.1 percent for Trump, with Marco Rubio running third at 15.9 percent).

What’s also notable about the results is that the dozen counties Trump won were in the lightly-populated, low-growth central-mountainous part of the state. The state’s urban centers, from the Sandpoint and Coeur d’Alene areas to Moscow and Lewiston, and to the south in Ada, Canyon, Twin Falls, Pocatello, Idaho Falls and Rexburg, all went for Cruz over Trump. Might DeSantis campaign planners see opportunity there?

I suspect they do, and the nature of that radio advertising suggests one angle for it.

What he said in the ad is, “The members of Congress will never vote to limit their own power. That’s why we need states to step up and take action. Idaho could be the next state to pass a resolution calling for an Article V term limits convention — giving state legislators a way to make term limits on Congress a reality.”

It was a call for a constitutional convention - a “convention of states” - an action never taken in the nation’s history. The reason is that such a convention might do almost anything, including throwing out the current constitution and replacing it (which is how we got this one). The eerie potential of that concerns people on both sides of the spectrum; on the right, Twin Falls radio show host Bill Colley wrote against it out of concern of what left learners might do to, say, the second amendment. Whether you come from the left or right, there’s plenty to be worried about should such a convention be called.

But the convention idea in recent years has generated traction among organization Idaho Republicans, and there have been attempts in the Idaho Legislature to call for a convention. It’s easy to see the current Republican leadership seizing on the idea, and DeSantis forces trying to leverage that for support in Idaho.

Idaho may be some distance from the core action in the Republican nomination battle - that would be in Florida - but in national politics these days, you can run but you can’t hide.

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