Former Idaho Democratic Congressman Larry LaRocco served two terms, then was defeated by Helen Chenoweth in 1994, the year of the big Republican sweep that brought GOP majorities to both houses of Congress (and also saw huge Republican wins in Idaho that halved the number of Democrats in the Legislature; in 1991, the Idaho state Senate was split 21-21 between Republicans and Democrats). Today, LaRocco is interviewed on Politico's "Arena" on whether 2010 will be another 1994 for incumbents. His take: It's worse.

"This is tapping into middle America," LaRocco told Politico. "I think this is more of a toxic atmosphere." But this time, LaRocco doesn't foresee a rout of Democrats and a big win for Republicans like in 1994. "The voter anger is equally divided between Republicans and Democrats – we’re seeing that in some of these primaries," he said. "It’s really anti-incumbent, quite frankly." You can see the full interview here.

---

---