Oregon Public Broadcasting

With the Idaho primary now history, the race for north Idaho's congressional seat is a contest between two candidates endorsed by the Tea Party movement.

As Doug Nadvornick reports, that dynamic may well decide whether Blue Dog Democratic Congressman Walt Minnick wins a second term.

Republican state Representative Raul Labrador beat rival Vaughn Ward for the right to face Democrat Walt Minnick.

In his year-and-a-half in office, Minnick has developed a reputation for voting against his party on some of the biggest issues of the session.

Still, there's one vote for which Republicans will dog him during the campaign…his vote to seat Nancy Pelosi as House Speaker.

Walt Minnick: "There was only one candidate last time. I expect this time that we have may well have some choice and I will exercise that choice based on what I think is best for Idaho and best for the country. It could well be a different vote. We'll have to see who's running."

Republicans are confident they can regain Minnick's Congressional seat.

Although Minnick has an eye-catching endorsement from the national Tea Party organization, Republicans say it's not as important as Raul Labrador's nod from the Boise Tea Party.