Vaughn Ward, a Marine reservist vying for the Republican nod to take on Democratic incumbent Walt Minnick in Idaho's 1st Congressional District, will soon get some help from a superstar politician in his bid to defeat state Rep. Raul Labrador, R-Eagle, in the primary election set for May 25. The Ward campaign announced Wednesday that Palin will appear Friday at the Qwest Arena in downtown Boise for a rally for Ward.
Ward, who worked for Palin while he served as Arizona Sen. John McCain's Nevada state campaign director in his 2008 bid for the White House, has already received Palin's endorsement. She also endorsed Adam Kinzinger, who is running for Illinois’ 11th Congressional District and Allen West, running in Florida’s 22nd Congressional District. All three men have served in the armed forces.
The visit will feature three events: a photo opportunity, which costs $1,000 per person, a VIP reception with Palin, $250 a person, and a rally, which costs those 18 and older $10 per person. The photo opportunity and the reception will be held in SportsZone, which is near the arena.
Here is the official announcement from the Ward campaign:
Labrador is likely none too happy with the impending visit by Palin. Labrador’s press secretary, Dennis Mansfield, sent a pre-emptive e-mail to supporters Tuesday morning critical of the visit, which at that time had yet to be confirmed by the Ward campaign. Mansfield admitted in the message that he would likely go and see Palin, as would many of Labrador’s followers. “I’ll bet a lot of our supporters would go to bask in her star power,” Mansfield said. “She’s pretty cool.” Mansfield doesn’t believe it will do much to help the Ward campaign, which has had problems with authenticity in the past two weeks. ”When the stage lights go out and the theatrical smoke and fog subsides – Idaho conservatives will still be wondering whether Vaughn Ward is what he says he is.” Mansfield said the Ward campaign is desperate to use Palin’s star power as a way to save it from defeat on May 25.
