Walt Minnick joins race for Congress

BOISE – Boise businessman Walt Minnick, with iconic former Democratic Gov. Cecil Andrus by his side, announced in stops around Idaho’s 1st District Wednesday that he’s running for Congress, setting up a three-way Democratic primary race for the chance to challenge GOP Rep. Bill Sali.

Minnick, a former timber products company CEO who took 40 percent of the vote against U.S. Sen. Larry Craig in 1996, told a crowd of cheering supporters in Boise, “I don’t think there’s been a time when people have been more concerned about the direction which this country is taking.”

There already are two other announced candidates in the Democratic race for the right to challenge Sali in 2008: former Micron Technology executive Larry Grant, who narrowly lost to Sali in the last election; and Rand Lewis, of Coeur d’Alene, a former military officer and former director of the University of Idaho’s Martin School of International Affairs.

Andrus endorsed Grant last time around. But at Minnick’s Boise announcement Wednesday, the blunt-spoken Andrus said, “Our current incumbent in that office is ineffective, an embarrassment – not as big an embarrassment as Larry Craig, but almost. … This is a man that can win in the fall.”

Minnick said of his primary opponents, “They’re both fine people and they’d be a big improvement over the current congressman as well. But I think primaries are healthy. … They bring out the issues.”

Sali recently announced that his re-election campaign will be co-chaired by state Superintendent of Schools Tom Luna, state Treasurer Ron Crane and House Speaker Lawerence Denney.

Denney gave Sali a strong endorsement, saying, “Just as I saw him do in the Idaho Legislature, he’s voting based on what’s right, not just what’s easy or what’s politically expedient.”

Here’s what Minnick had to say about Sali: “America is on the wrong track, and Bill Sali is too extreme to be effective. He can’t even get along with his Republican colleagues. Idaho only has two congressmen. We need to be effective if we’re going to achieve change.”

Minnick made announcements in Coeur d’Alene, Lewiston, Caldwell and Boise.

There’s also a contested primary race on the Republican side, in which Sali faces Iraq war veteran Matt Salisbury. The primary election is May 27.