I was sitting at my desk at work and I received a push poll against Larry LaRocco for Jim Risch. Angry gnome Risch must be getting nervous about this race. Apparently the gloves are coming off as we get closer to November.

Even in Idaho the Republicans are running scared!

Thanks to technology, we're making history, again, tonight here in Idaho.

Beginning at 9:30pm ET tonight, Independent Rex Rammell and I will be having the first debate of the general election campaign for U.S. Senate here in Idaho -- and for the first time in Idaho history, we'll be broadcasting the debate on the internet and taking questions live from folks like you watching it online, right here at DailyKos and across the internet.

Tonight's forum is a new kind of debate that uses the power of technology to put the debate in your hands. So please, join us below the fold to watch the debate and ask your questions in real-time starting at 9:30pm ET!

UPDATE (8:45pm MT): I've now updated the diary with a copy of the video from tonight's debate.  Thanks so much for everyone from DailyKos who tuned in and participated!

Last month came the news that Obama significantly outraised McCain in Idaho, including in some of the state's most traditionally conservative areas. ID-01 Democratic candidate Walt Minnick has also consistently been outraising the hapless Bill Sali, and Republican Senate candidate Jim Risch has had to loan himself nearly half a million dollars to gain a cash on hand lead over Larry LaRocco.

And now there's more evidence that Idahoans are ready to invest in Democrats.

Here’s a surprising development: The Idaho Election Campaign Fund, for which Idahoans have checked boxes on their state tax returns since 1975 if they want to donate a dollar to a political party of their choice or to a general political campaign fund, this year is giving more money to the Democrats than the Republicans. The checks, which will be handed over to the parties in a ceremony tomorrow, total $35,540 for the Democrats and $30,891 for the Republicans. The Libertarian Party will collect $2,854 and the Constitution Party $2,144....

It was the first time since 1994 that the Democrats have collected more than the Republicans from the checkoff fund. Interestingly, the Democrats routinely collected more than the Republicans in the early years of the fund, but that turned around in 1982. The Democrats regained a slight edge in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, but the Republicans took the lead from 1996 on, and in 2000 hit their widest margin when they collected $58,691 to the Democrats’ $43,068.

One party rule for the past decade and a half hasn't done much to advance Idaho's interests, particularly when those Republicans are the national embarrassments Larry Craig and Bill Sali. But it's more than just being tired of the mortification that kind of representation brings--Idahoans want change just as much as the rest of America. As Jim Hansen, director of the IDP said

"This reflects a sea-change in political attitudes across the state, a reversal of fortune for the party that best reflects the people’s desire for a better country and a better state.... When so many Idahoans fill out their tax forms and designated $1 to the Idaho Democrats, it means more people feel a kinship with our values of protecting Idaho’s unique way of life and standing up for the middle class. . . . . The pundits may still see red when they look at Idaho, but the ordinary taxpayers of Idaho are turning it blue, one dollar at a time."

On the Web:
Minnick for Congress
LaRocco for Senate

Bill Sali just makes it far too easy for us.

In a meeting in his Capitol Hill office, Sali reportedly told a candidate for Idaho’s House of Representatives, Byron Yankey, that there "‘could be up to 40 barrels of oil‘ in a single tree." Yankey wrote on his campaign blog:

Congressman Sali informed us that a solution to the high price of gasoline was to make petroleum from "all those trees in our forests." ... He continued by saying there "could be up to 40 barrels of oil" in a single tree.

Sali made a similar comment in 2006:

"Forty percent of the mass of every tree in the forest is crude oil," he said. Going after that, he said, "could put Idaho in the oil business for the first time."

Carrying on the grand tradition of "Congressman" Helen Chenoweth, who famously declared Idaho's wild salmon couldn't be endangered because there was plenty of canned salmon to be found at the grocery store. Not to mention Ronald Reagan. Maybe they're on to something, maybe the oil is where all that pollution the trees cause is coming from.

Please, Idaho, make all us expats proud. Dump Sali, give us Minnick.

Update: Sali's spokesman (unclear whether he's wearing his congressional or campaign hat) gives a sort of denial to TPM:

"I wasn't there," spokesman Wayne Hoffman told Election Central, "but I can assure you he didn't say there's 40 barrels of oil in a tree."

It's been noted that Sali said something virtually identical in 2006, when he was quoted by the Spokane Spokesman-Review saying that "Forty percent of the mass of every tree in the forest is crude oil."

Hoffman told us that the 2006 quote was "out of context."

How he can be so certain of something that occurred when he wasn't present is unclear, but that's his story.

Bill Sali, the gift that just keeps on giving.

First, despite repeated efforts, he just can't get the hang of FEC reports, and it's not just the Idaho bloggers having fun with it. Now Comedy Central has joined in, describing Sali's difficulty with that "Strange Magic Typewriter" that is causing so much confusion.

Sali's office has apparently had financial disclosure problems since for a while now. Since at least 2005. But, you know, they always have really good excuses...

   * Couldn't figure out how to make the smiley face with the parenthesis

   * Tried to upload FEC report through Facebook, but it was down

   * Office network was inflicted by some sort of porn spam/virus

   * Dog was home sick and spilled coffee on the hard drive

   * Madden '09 just released

Add to Sali's inability to just make that damned computer work the little issue that arose today. Turns out that neither his campaign NOR his congressional district office are in the district he, you know, represents.

But it gets even better. This weekend, the Idaho Press Tribune editorialized the myriad ways in which Sali's whole operation is a bit of a trainweck, honing in particularly on the fact that the "mastermind" behind Bill Sali, his campaign spokesman, also happens to be his congressional spokesman.

The dual employ of Hoffman as an official spokesman for Sali’s congressional office and as his campaign spokesman is unusual and inappropriate.

Hoffman says he can keep his jobs separate by using different phones and stepping out of the congressman’s office to deal with campaign-related calls.

It’s a shell game. The truth is, if he’s handling campaign matters, he’s not available at that time to answer questions in his official capacity as a spokesman for the office. Sali’s decision to let Hoffman wear two hats essentially means that taxpayers pay for his campaign press secretary and he doesn’t have to cover another salary out of his campaign coffers.

These issues raise questions about the management of the congressman’s office, his decision-making ability and even his ethics. In order to have Idahoans’ trust, he needs to get his operation in order.

To which Hoffman replied:

"They took the entire matter out of context in my mind, and I worked for the Press-Tribune for four years," he said. "It borders on libel."

I don't think that word "libel" means what Hoffman thinks it means. Neither does the Idaho Press Tribune, one of the state's most staunchly conservative papers. They're so worked up about it, they decided to do something drastic:

We've wanted to start up an editors' blog for quite some time, but it's always been pushed to the back burner. Not any more. This is our official launch, and you can thank Wayne Hoffman for that.

When you've got pundits and bloggers, locally and nationally, bantering about your paper, and you've got a seasoned public relations person who cries "libel," it's time to speak up.

I suspect we're going to be seeing quite a bit more scrutiny of Sali in at least one Idaho paper now. Maybe there can also be a bit of scrutiny fro the House ethics committee, because it seems like Sali and Hoffman don't have too solid a grasp on that whole ethics rule the Congress has about congressional employees conducting campaign business. Not that the "rules" mean anything to Sali and Hoffman. But at least they're good for a joke or two this election season. It's just too bad Idaho has to be stuck with them.

Today at 3pm ET/Noon PT, I'll be holding my third live online video town hall, and I want you to join me!

I've already had two live online town hall meetings, and they have been really successful. I've been able to reach out to voters from Idaho and friends like you from across the country and answer their questions -- face to face. I hope you'll stick around and join the conversation!  Just ask your questions in the chat room below.

Update: Thanks to everybody who participated in today's 3rd online town hall meeting!  You can watch video from today's event below.  I look forward to chatting more with you online very soon!

It's great to be back blogging with you all here at DailyKos!

Last week, Markos released the results of a new poll that show us running strong in Idaho's U.S. Senate race.  I blogged here about the new poll numbers last Friday.  But for those of you who haven't seen them, here they are:

Research 2000 for Daily Kos. 7/28-30. Likely voters. MoE 4.5% (No trend lines)

 Risch (R) 42
 LaRocco (D) 32
 Rammell (I) 5
 Undecided 17

There's something happening here in Idaho.  I see it everywhere I travel, including at each of the 32 "Working for Idaho" jobs that I've taken where I'm working shoulder-to-shoulder with working Idaho families, and these numbers are telling the tale.

More over the flip.

Yesterday, Markos released the results of a new poll that show us running strong in Idaho's U.S. Senate race.  Here are the latest numbers:

Research 2000 for Daily Kos. 7/28-30. Likely voters. MoE 4.5% (No trend lines)

  Risch (R) 42
  LaRocco (D) 32
  Rammell (I) 5
  Undecided 17

When I ran into Markos at Netroots Nation last month, I challenged him to poll our race, and I'm so glad that he took me up on that challenge.  Our own internal poll in June showed the gap at 15 points -- so yesterday's poll results certainly show us with the momentum.  What's more, our internal poll showed that once voters get to know about me, get to know about my stands on the issues, and get to know more about my Republican opponent, Jim Risch, poll respondents shift and choose me over Risch.  Clearly, looking at Markos' poll, that's starting to happen.

More over the flip.

I ran into Larry LaRocco at Netroots Nation in Austin, and after some back-and-forth banter about his race, he dared me to poll the race, claiming it would be within 10 points. I didn't believe him, but on a whim, I commissioned the poll anyway. The results:

Research 2000 for Daily Kos. 7/28-30. Likely voters. MoE 4.5% (No trend lines)

Damn. It's 10 points. Now LaRocco has a long way to go, but with wealthy über-wingnut Rex Rammell in the race, he doesn't need to get to 50 percent (which would be a tall order indeed). With essentially two well-funded Republicans in the race, LaRocco appears to have a real chance to slip in with a plurality of the vote.

LaRocco has a 43/22 favorable/unfavorable rating, with 35 percent not knowing who he is. Republican Jim Risch is at 45/26, with 29 percent unfamiliar with him.  LaRocco is narrowly winning independents 38-35 with 16 percent undecided, while Republicans are really torn -- 21 percent undecided, probably agonizing over voting for Risch (who few seem to like in his party) or their soul mate Rammell. Right now, Risch gets only 64 percent of Republicans.

Given those numbers, and with 17 percent of all respondents undecided, this race is shockingly wide open.

Want to know how Obama does in Idaho? Of course you do.

A 16-point deficit seems ugly until you consider that Bush defeated Kerry 69-30 in the state in 2004. This was one of my top pro-Obama arguments in the primary. LaRocco would have little hope of overcoming a 39-point deficit at the top of the ticket. But 16 or even 20 or 25? Not easy, but easier. By running tighter, Obama makes it easier for down-ticket Democrats to win.

Full crosstabs below the fold.

On the web: Larry LaRocco for Senate

Okay, I wasn't here on Sunday to laugh along with you, but I couldn't stop myself from making this joke.

I've been arguing for months and months that something has been afoot in Idaho. Further evidence of that comes from FEC filings by the presidential campaigns. Via New West, the Statesman's editorial page editor Kevin Richert blogs about the numbers.

Through June 30, Idahoans gave $375,586 to Barack Obama, the Democrats' presumptive presidential nominee. Presumptive GOP nominee John McCain received $228,938.

Statewide, Mitt Romney — the preferred candidate of most leading Idaho Republicans — raised more than Obama and McCain combined. But the fact remains that Obama has raised 64 percent more than McCain in Idaho, with four months left in the election.

For the month of June, Obama raised $57,880 in Idaho. McCain raised $40,995. Even with Romney out of the picture as a presidential candidate, McCain trailed in fundraising in one of America's most Republican states.

Here's the tidbit most interesting for Idaho politics-watchers:

In the "836" zip codes — including heavily Republican Nampa, Meridian and Eagle — Obama has raised $43,156 to McCain's $29,947. Among GOP candidates, McCain trailed not only Romney but Ron Paul.

This is the fastest growing part of the state and the most politically frustrating. As the population from bluing Boise expands west to these suburbs, Dems have been hoping that it would mean a breakdown in the Republican stranglehold on the area. That hasn't happened yet, but the Ron Paul factor and the fracturing of the state Republican party that I've been writing about for the last eight months, and that Richert blogs about in his post, seems to be centered in this part of the state.

Which holds some encouragement for both Democrats running here: Walt Minnick in ID-01, which encompasses this part of the state, and Larry LaRocco for Senate. First, the simple that Obama is leading in fundraising in the whole state shows that the part of the population that's engaged and paying attention right now is much more motivated for change in the form of the Democratic ticket. The enthusiasm in the state right now is all on the Democrats' side.

Minnick has the added benefit of a Sali financial meltdown. The latest is that Sali filed his FEC report 10 days late, shows anemic numbers, an existing and ongoing substantial debt, and some very funny numbers, including a $2,000 contribution from a PAC that apparently doesn't exist. The Sali campaign can definitely be put in the "struggling" column.

On the Senate front, the Paul factor plays out in the candidacy of Independent Rex Rammell, the elk rancher who has an eduring hate-on for Republican candidate Risch and a personal fortune to propel his run. Given the disaffection so many Idaho Republicans are having with their state party and the candidate at the top of their ticket, another third party candidate in the form of an ultra-conservative Mormon like Rammell could pull a sizable margin from Risch.

While, as Richert points out, Obama is pretty unlikely to win the state's four electoral votes in November, the impact of his run and the internal divisions in the Republican party could make this the year the stars weirdly align for Idaho's Democrats. All this should be enough to make Obama consider another stop in the Gem State--preferably in that core Republican part of the state that's behind him financially--on one of his Western states swings.

On the Web:
Minnick for Congress
LaRocco for Senate

In response to NathanRudy's diary, Totally Selfish Request: No Mitt Romney!!!!! I just have to say...

sigh I need a drink.  There are more and more rumors of Mitt being named Veep for McCain and this disturbs me, and not just because he tied his dog to the roof of his car.  This changes a lot of races in my area.

I am FAR more selfish then NathanRudy in proclaiming "NO MITT ROMNEY!!!!"

There hasn't been a diary on this yet, it seems; I just have a couple links I'd like to share, but here's the punchline:

Bill Sali, one of the most embarrassing folks to hold a seat in Idaho's congressional delegation (beating out Chenoweth, et al), still has $126,000 in debt from his narrow victory in 2006 over netroots candidate Larry Grant. He has $250,000 CoH.

Walt Minnick, his Democratic challenger for Idaho's first congressional seat, has raised $286,000 in the last quarter, has $444,000 CoH and carries no debt. The DCCC has added $349,000 to Minnick's campaign for media. For the more schadenfreude-inclined, it may be noted that Sali didn't meet the filing deadline, and has issued nine amendments to earlier reports since June 1.

In Idaho, the state that gave Obama his largest margin of victory, where Al Gore booked one of the state's largest venues to capacity to give a slideshow, where the state's largest city has a Democratic mayor, where Bill Sali won with a margin of less than 6% of the vote in 2006.

Every State. Every race. Right here.

This is Number 24 in a planned series of 50 entries between now and November, looking at each of the 50 states in terms of every race on that state's ticket--Presidential, Gubernatorial, Senate, House, State legislatures—the whole baked potato bar! Special attention paid to identifying and promoting the most important contests per state.

Every state means looking at the red as well as the blue, and the small as well as the large.  We’ve already suffered through Utah and Wyoming; today, let’s complete the red rockies trifecta and look at Friggin’ IDAHO!

I'm Debbie Holmes, and I'm running against Mike Simpson as the Democrat in Idaho's Second Congressional District. I encourage you all to read 'Earnest Earmarks', co-written by Senator Larry Craig and Representative Mike Simpson several years ago, as well as the response from Reason Magazine. I agree with Congressman Simpson that earmarks have a place in our system. And I notice that Craig and Simpson concede that some reform is necessary. But they continue to tear down every possible mechanism of reform as 'unconstitutional', effectively upholding unlimited and unregulated earmarking as the only legal option.

Today, at 3pm ET / 12pm PT, I'm holding my second live online video town hall meeting to talk about the race of U.S. Senate in Idaho, and I want you to join me -- right here through my DailyKos diary!

UPDATE:  Thanks to everyone who participated in today's online town hall!  I really enjoyed our discussion.  I've embedded the video from today's town hall below.  Thanks again!

Larry LaRocco, who is running for the open seat vacated by Larry Craig, is liveblogging here on Kos right now.

Rec his diary please! Ask him questions and of course donate to him on ActBlue.

http://www.actblue.com/...

I am very pleased to be back on DailyKos.  Since I was last here I have been fighting to represent the forgotten working families of Idaho.  

I have campaigned non-stop since April 2007.          

My "Working for the Senate" campaign continues to grab Idaho voters and media. Tomorrow will be my 27th job and I will work side by side with members of Local 296 Plumbers and Pipefitters Union in Boise at a dairy processing plant in Jerome.  Next week, I will work with roofers in Boise.

As we head down the home stretch with 119 days remaining a clear path to victory is emerging.