By Heather Garlich
Congressional Quarterly

Electoral votes: 4

Delegates: 23

Chairman: Bethine Church

Hotel: Hollywood Metropolitan (323) 962-5800

1996 Election:
Dole – 52%
Clinton – 34%
Perot – 13%

Idaho Democrats have had little to celebrate in recent years as Republicans have solidified their domination of the state, a Western conservative stronghold.

No Democratic presidential candidate has carried Idaho since 1964, with President Clinton losing to Republican Bob Dole by 18 percentage points in 1996; four years earlier, Clinton finished just barely ahead of independent candidate Ross Perot, as President George Bush drubbed him by 14 points.

State Democratic Party Chairman Carolyn Boyce conceded that it is difficult to find support for her party's presidential candidate, Vice President Al Gore, in Idaho because "people know going into the election that [Republican nominee George W.] Bush will carry Idaho."

Republicans also currently hold the governor's office, all four seats in the congressional delegation and 85 percent of the seats in the state Legislature.

But the Democratic Party is holding its first national convention in Los Angeles since it nominated John F. Kennedy for president in 1960, and that gives Idaho Democrats an opportunity to reach back to better days for inspiration.

The Idaho convention delegation is headed by 77-year-old Bethine Church, whose late husband, Idaho Sen. Frank Church, gave the keynote address at that Democratic convention 40 years ago.

Church is trying to convey a "we shall rise again" attitude among her fellow Democrats, referring to her husband's past prominence on the national scene. "We have an underlying Democratic vote, and people all over the state have been saying that having a one-party state is not a good idea," she said, predicting a resurgence in state Democratic strength over the next two to four years.

Church, who said she has been involved in politics since she was 5 years old and has attended all but one Democratic National Convention since 1960, said of the Idaho delegation, "It's a great mix of young activists and people who've been involved for a long while in politics." Among the younger delegates is Brie Stoianoff, who recently graduated from college; delegation page Matt Oppenheimer will turn 18 just before convention time.

Gore, who won the May 23 Idaho primary long after he had clinched the presidential nomination, earned 19 of the state's 23 delegates; the other four, committed to former New Jersey Sen. Bill Bradley, will soon join the Gore ranks.

When asked which issues are paramount with Idaho delegates, Church and Boyce both stressed education and tax issues (with Boyce especially interested in the latter because she is a certified public accountant). Church also would like to address the regulation of health maintenance organizations and prescription drug benefits in this year's platform, along with small business issues.

IDAHO NOTABLES: Bethine Church, the delegation chairman and widow of U.S. Sen. Frank Church; Democratic National Committee members John Greenfield and Dottie Stimpson.