Otter PAC made impact in this year's primary

Gov. Butch Otter and First Lady Lori Otter have only two more years left in their leadership positions. But they hardly have a short-timer’s attitude when it comes to shaping the Republican Party on the legislative and precinct levels.

The formation of Otter PAC, criticized as being a “power grab” by the governor and first lady, showed some muscle in last week’s primary elections. Sen. Shawn Keough of Sandpoint, Luke Malek of Coeur d’Alene and Rep. Kelley Packer of McCammon were victorious in the face of heavy opposition from the conservative Idaho Freedom Foundation.

“We’re not here because we are afraid of the Idaho Freedom Foundation. We’re here because we think we can make a difference with the party,” said Lori Otter. “The driving force for us is there is a lot of common sense that goes with leading and a lot of common sense that goes with conservative values.”

Through her husband’s experience in Congress and as governor, she knows that running for office is not the same as serving.

“I sometimes think the far right of our party doesn’t understand that,” she said. “For instance, take Obamacare. I think Butch did the best job he could to make the best decision for the state going forward. History will show that he did, because we have the most successful state-run exchange in the nation. But we almost lost the last election because of that.

“The emotional reaction is, Obamacare is awful and we want nothing to do with it. The leadership part is what we do that is the best decision for the next 30 years,” she said. “That’s how you have to govern, and that’s what we are trying to promote in the PAC.”

The Idaho Freedom Foundation, directed by Wayne Hoffman, criticizes the governor and most legislators for spending too much and providing too little in tax relief.

“Wayne Hoffman is entitled to his opinions. He is sincere with his opinions, but we think he is sincerely wrong,” the first lady said. “Butch has been the most conservative governor in the United States for the last two years and in the top five for the last six, yet he was called a socialist in the last election. That’s ridiculous.”

But the Idaho Freedom Foundation, which racked up some impressive victories of its own in last week’s primary, makes plenty of noise and has people working to elect conservative candidates. The Otter PAC is aimed at countering some of those efforts.

“If they want to do the PAC thing, we can play that game … and we’re pretty dang good at it,” Lori Otter said.

The Otter PAC came away last week with three key players on the Joint-Finance Committee getting wins — Keough, Rep. Maxine Bell of Jerome and Rep. Wendy Horman of Idaho Falls. According to Kevin Richert of Idaho Education News, a longtime Idaho political reporter and editorial writer, Otter-supported candidates won in eight of the 12 races.

But it wasn’t all bad for Hoffman’s IFF, with Rep. Ron Nate of Rexburg and Judy Boyle of Midvale staving off heavy opposition from the Otter side. Nate’s victory was especially impressive, as Richert observed. Senate President Pro Tem Brent Hill of Rexburg donated $1,000 to Nate’s opponent, Doug Ricks, and House Speaker Scott Bedke did not contribute to Nate’s campaign. Christy Zito’s victory over Rep. Rich Wills of Glenns Ferry also was a big win for IFF backers.

“We engaged in about 10 different legislative districts and won in five, so I have no complaints,” Hoffman said. “For years, southern and eastern Idaho has been a disaster for conservatives. But they are making inroads. They did in 2014 and did it again in 2016. It’s because we’re giving information to voters so they are no longer fooled by phony conservatives.”

The Otter PAC, of course, will be providing plenty of information of its own — which is probably good for Idaho voters.

“Idaho is a relatively young state,” Lori Otter said. “We’ve been pretty lucky with how things have gone, but that could all turn around pretty fast if people stop paying attention and people stop investing in the election process.”

Neither the Otter PAC, nor the Freedom Foundation, can claim a clear victory in last week’s primary. But in baseball terms, it was a heck of a good first inning.

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Chuck Malloy is a native Idahoan and longtime political reporter and editorial writer. He is a former political editor with the Post Register of Idaho Falls and a former editorial writer with the Idaho Statesman. He may be contacted at: ctmalloy@outlook.com