Oregon Public Broadcasting

When Idaho's Larry Craig quietly leaves the U.S. Senate in January, chances are he’ll be replaced by a fellow Republican.

Idaho Lieutenant Governor Jim Risch holds a big lead in the polls over Democrat Larry LaRocco. The two are scheduled to debate again Tuesday night in Boise. North Idaho correspondent Doug Nadvornick reports.

The U.S. Senate race in Idaho is open because Larry Craig is retiring in the wake of his arrest in the Minneapolis airport last year.

Democrats thought they had a legitimate chance to win his seat. They figured their party’s momentum in the presidential race would trickle down in this reddest of states.

They nominated Larry LaRocco, the only Democrat to serve North Idaho in the U.S. House in the last 40 years.

But polls show Republican Jim Risch with a clear lead. The former state senator from Boise served two terms as Lieutenant Governor.

But Boise State University political scientist Gary Moncrief says it was a stint as interim governor in 2006 that elevated Risch’s profile.

Gary Moncrief: “Lieutenant Governor is not a very visible office in most states and certainly not in Idaho. So getting that seven months with the bully pulpit is certainly an advantage.”

History also gives Risch the edge. Idaho hasn’t elected a Democratic senator since Frank Church. He served four terms in the 1960s and ‘70s.