Rep. Bill Sali's 2006 victory relied heavily on a single outside group that accounted for half of all spending on his behalf. Club For Growth, after spending $1.1 million for Sali, hasn't re-engaged in 2008 and typically doesn't support re-election campaigns.

In that vacuum, Sali just got some outstanding news: A new group, funded in part by the third-richest man in America, has joined the race.

Freedom's Watch opened shop last year with a $15 million ad campaign backing President Bush's troop surge in Iraq. It's now involved in 12 House races on behalf of Republicans, paying for polling, radio and TV ads, direct mail and computer-generated phone calls. So far, the effort targets Democrats - including Sali foe Walt Minnick - for opposing oil exploration.

The group's biggest backer is Sheldon Adelson, a Las Vegas casino owner and GOP contributor. According to Forbes magazine, Adelson is worth about $26 billion. His wealth has ballooned since he opened casinos in Macau, an island controlled by China that led the world in gambling revenues with $10.3 billion in 2007.

Freedom's Watch is a non-profit that is exempt from contribution and spending limits and from disclosing its finances. It can engage in issue advocacy, but not support candidates. The New York Times reported last fall that the group hoped to raise $200 million for the 2008 election.

For two weeks earlier this month, Freedom's Watch aired radio ads and made computer-generated phone calls in Idaho. They urged people to call the "liberal" Minnick and "ask him why he's against developing American energy and supporting American families."

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee countered with two weeks of radio spots, saying the Freedom's Watch ads were "simply not true" and accusing Sali of "looking out for Big Oil."

Sali supports exploration offshore and in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Minnick opposes exploration in ANWR but favors drilling in Alaska's National Petroleum Reserve. Minnick wants states to decide on drilling offshore.

Minnick opposes tax breaks for oil companies but supports them for alternative energy. He says Congress must address global warming. "It's not a problem we can simply drill ourselves out of," said Minnick in June when he offered cut-rate gas at a Boise gas station.

GOP Rep. Mike Simpson said Freedom's Watch is promoting the hottest issue of the campaign. He predicts that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's resistance to additional exploration will become as big a weight on Democrats in 2008 as the Jack Abramoff scandal was to Republicans in 2006.

Simpson welcomed Freedom's Watch to Idaho, in part because he doubts the Republican National Congressional Committee will be much help. The RNCC has just $9 million in the bank, compared to the DCCC's $55 million. The Democratic committee has reserved $349,000 in TV ads on behalf of Minnick, who already leads Sali in fund-raising by $350,000.

"I don't know that the RNCC is going to be able to match that," said Simpson. "They're going to look at other races that they think we can win and hope we can pull this one out. I don't see the resources coming here."

Simpson said Freedom's Watch will fill the void. "Organizations like this can help with independent expenditures and their message on energy really helps Republicans. The more they do, the better."

Foster Morss, a spokesman for Freedom's Watch, would not say how much the group plans to spend here or nationwide. Such groups must act independently of campaigns. "We have absolutely no control over anybody who does independent expenditures," said Sali's spokesman, Wayne Hoffman.

Adelson's money is good, but his gambling riches and doing business with Communist China may offend voters in Sali's conservative base. And Adelson's support of the Chinese government may trouble voters concerned about human rights. China granted Adelson his gambling licenses on Macau.

The New Yorker magazine reported in June that Adelson helped fend off a move in Congress in 2001 to oppose awarding the Olympics to Beijing. "Look at the incredible progress China has made," he said in 2007. "How can someone say they're doing the wrong thing?"

In Louisiana and Mississippi special elections in May, the DCCC ran attack ads linking Republicans to Adelson. Aired on Christian radio stations, the ads called Adelson "the world's No. 1 casino czar and one of China's top American business partners." They also charged that China persecutes Christians, steals U.S. jobs and forces women to have abortions.

Hoffman said Sali has a "stellar record" on human rights. He added that while he doesn't know a great deal about Adelson, "It sounds to me like he's an American businessman who's experiencing the benefit of the free-market economy."

Adelson is no picture-perfect white knight, but the underfunded Sali should be thrilled to have his help. And if Democrats try to link Sali to Adelson, they'd better be ready to hear Sali remind voters about some of the liberals helping fund Minnick.

Dan Popkey: 377-6438