Idaho Senate Election

Republican incumbent: Larry Craig (not seeking reelection)

Democratic candidate: Larry LaRocco

Republican candidate: Jim Risch

LaRocco, 61, was Idaho's 1st district congressman from 1991 to 1995.

Risch, 65, was elected lieutenant governor in 2002. He briefly served as governor in 2006 after Dirk Kempthorne resigned that office in order to accept an appointment as secretary of the interior. Risch was again elected lieutenant governor in 2006, and currently serves in that position. He had earlier been majority leader and president pro tempore of the state Senate.

Craig pleaded guilty in 2007 to a charge of disorderly conduct arising from an incident in a men's room at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. He subsequently attempted to withdraw that plea, and is currently pursuing an appeal from a lower-court decision that prevented him from doing so. He stated his intent to resign, and later reneged on that statement. However, he did end his 2008 reelection campaign.

A poll reported by Real Clear Politics shows a 10-point lead for Risch.

Idaho has voted consistently Republican in recent years. The last Democratic victory for a seat in either house of Congress was in 1992, when LaRocco won his second term in the House. My guess is that the nationwide Democratic trend and fallout from the Craig scandal are the only reasons the race is as close as it is.