Oregon Public Broadcasting

With just a week to go before Election Day, Idaho Democrats are increasingly hopeful they can win a US House seat that Republicans have held for 38 of the last 42 years. Correspondent Doug Nadvornick reports.

The campaign of Democratic challenger Walt Minnick has been trumpeting the results of a poll by the Capitol Hill newspaper Roll Call. The survey has Minnick leading Republican incumbent Bill Sali by six percentage points in Idaho’s First District Congressional race.

Political analysts say Minnick is benefiting from enthusiasm among Idaho Democrats for Barack Obama. The Boise businessman has also raised enough money for a consistent TV advertising presence.

Roll Call says Minnick is conservative enough that he appeals to Republicans who consider Sali too conservative or too ideological.

Boise State University political scientist Gary Moncrief gives Minnick a fighting chance.

Moncrief: "If there’s a race in Idaho where one would have to think that the Democrats have to be optimistic, it would be that race."

Still, Moncrief says Minnick’s running in one of the MOST conservative districts in the country. And Republicans have owned that seat for the last two generations.