Raul Labrador knows the score and its result.  So much for the long shot.  So much for "I have a plan to win."  In the end, it was the establishment once again sticking it to the grassroots. The tally of the actual votes has not been released at the time of this writing, so until they are, we'll have to speculate on how close the vote was.  The win by Congressman Kevin McCarthy was to be expected.  That's why no republican congressman that had anything to lose jumped into the race.  It was a no win race plain and simple.  However there was winner and he's the congressman from Idaho's First District.

Raul Labrador personifies the American dream  He's beaten the odds several times in his forty six years on this earth.  He has adroitly recovered from his endorsement of Senator Russ Fulcher in Idaho's GOP Gubernatorial Primary.

Chances are that the congressman would not be invited to the governor's ball anytime soon due to his contentious relationship with current Governor Butch Otter.  Most politicos in Idaho thought the endorsement of Fulcher could hurt Labrador's long term chances for a shot at a higher office in the future.  If you can't deliver the win, then how powerful are you really?

Labrador's run, real or not, was a brilliant move to wipe away another calamity.  We like to call it  the state GOP convention.   Depending on who you talk to or believe, the Idaho GOP has no chairman, or Barry Peterson still runs the state GOP.

Congressman Labrador was the chairman of the convention where the bunkhouse stampede occurred.  If not for the majority leaders race, most folks would be looking to blame him for the debacle.  Not anymore, the Moscow convention is history.

The local reaction to Labrador's bid has been nothing but roses.  In fact, I've opined many times on my local talk show here that no one has asked the obvious question?  How legit was the run?   It doesn't matter now. The truth in politics is that all politics is local.

Idahoans have been fed positive above the fold stories about Raul's run.  Politicians, big or small, dream of such positive press.  No matter what the vote count, Congressman Labrador is the big winner today.  Who says the score is the real measure of judging a long shot?

 

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