The Idaho Republican Party, the Idaho state affiliate of the Republican Party, is the dominant political party in the state of Idaho. Republicans control all the constitutional offices, with C.L. "Butch" Otter as Governor. They also control by large margins the state Senate and House. Idaho's Congressional delegation are led by US Senator Jim Risch, Senator Mike Crapo and in the US House of Representatives Idaho is represented by Mike Simpson and Raúl Labrador.
The governing body of the Idaho Republican Party is the Republican State Central Committee, which is made up of an equal number of elected members from each legislative district and county. It establishes policy and functions of the Idaho Republican Party on the state level. The current State Chairman is Norm Semanko.
The Idaho GOP is also responsible for putting together and executing a Victory Plan that includes registering and identifying Republican voters and getting them to the polls. The Idaho GOP provides infrastructure and resources for Republican candidates.
2010 proved to be the most successful year in the history of the Idaho Republican Party, increasing its majority hold of the Idaho Legislature to 85/100 seats and reelecting all of the Republican statewide officers. Republican Raúl Labrador unseated incumbent Walt Minnick by 10% to reclaim Idaho's 1st congressional district. The Idaho GOP spent over $1.3 million dollars on key Victory Programs such as buying television ads, mailing hundreds of thousands of campaign mail pieces, making hundreds of thousands of phone calls, recruiting and training a record number of candidates, opening field offices and hiring field staff, driving record numbers of early and absentee voting, among many other Victory Programs that helped deliver Republican victories across the state.
On March 6, 2012, the Idaho GOP held its first Presidential Caucus. The two largest caucus sites in the nation were held in Ada and Canyon Counties.
Famous quotes containing the words republican party, republican and/or party:
“If you believe that a nation is really better off which achieves for a comparative few, those who are capable of attaining it, high culture, ease, opportunity, and that these few from their enlightenment should give what they consider best to those less favored, then you naturally belong to the Republican Party. But if you believe that people must struggle slowly to the light for themselves, then it seems to me that you are a Democrat.”
—Eleanor Roosevelt (1884–1962)
“The Republican form of government is the highest form of government; but because of this it requires the highest type of human nature—a type nowhere at present existing.”
—Herbert Spencer (1820–1903)
“In inner-party politics, these methods lead, as we shall yet see, to this: the party organization substitutes itself for the party, the central committee substitutes itself for the organization, and, finally, a “dictator” substitutes himself for the central committee.”
—Leon Trotsky (1879–1940)