2006 New Member Profiles
Idaho's 1st District: Bill Sali (R)

The Almanac of American Politics
© National Journal Group Inc.

Bill Sali
Born:	Feb. 17, 1954
Family:	Wife, Terry; six children
Religion:	Christian
Education:	Boise State University, B.A. 1981; University of Idaho, J.D. 1984
Career:	Lawyer; musician
Elected  Office:	Idaho House, 1990-2006

Bill Sali may be the most unpopular man elected to Congress this year. He burned so many bridges during his 16 years in the Idaho House that the national party worried that he might not be able to hold on to this congressional seat -- one of the nation's most solidly Republican -- which opened up when GOP Rep. Butch Otter ran for governor.

In the state Legislature, many colleagues viewed Sali as an uncompromising grandstander. He was often at odds with his own party leaders, who stripped him of a committee chairmanship in 2004 and temporarily relieved him of his committee assignments this year. During an emotional April debate over an abortion-related bill, Sali angered legislators on both sides of the aisle with his insistence on discussing studies linking abortion to breast cancer. Afterward, House Speaker Bruce Newcomb, a Republican, lashed out at Sali, telling reporters, "That idiot is just an absolute idiot."

But the obstinacy that made Sali a pariah to the Idaho Republican establishment earned him praise from social-conservative activists, who admired his maverick, no-nonsense style. A leading abortion opponent, he had the backing of the National Right to Life organization and an array of key conservative groups in the May 23 GOP primary.

Sali, who boasted that he never voted for a tax increase in 16 years, also had the support of the anti-tax Club for Growth, which gave him a decided advantage in campaign dollars. The club ran television ads praising Sali's anti-tax stance and attacking his two closest primary competitors: Canyon County Commissioner Robert Vasquez, a conservative best known for his anti-immigration stance, and former state Sen. Sheila Sorensen, a moderate who was backed by Republican Rep. Mike Simpson.

Were it not for the crowded, six-way GOP primary, Sali probably wouldn't have made it to Washington. He emerged on top, but captured the Republican nomination with an unimpressive 26 percent -- he won just 19,000 votes and only eight of the 19 counties that make up the 1st District. Vasquez finished second with 19 percent, followed by Sorensen, who had 18 percent, and state controller Keith Johnson, who also won 18 percent.

Although the district is normally considered out of reach for Democratic candidates, having delivered 69 percent of its presidential vote to George W. Bush in 2004, the race unnerved the national GOP until late in the campaign. Vice President Dick Cheney, House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., and Republican National Committee Chairman Ken Mehlman all made campaign visits to urge voters to stick with Sali over Democrat Larry Grant, a former Micron Technology general counsel.