A ‘mouthpiece for the law’ or a ‘fighter’? Your picks for Idaho attorney general
Next week, Idaho voters will choose between a former congressman and a longtime Boise lawyer to serve as the state’s next attorney general.
The attorney general is the state’s top lawyer, representing Idaho in legal disputes and upholding the state constitution. For the last 20 years, Lawrence Wasden held the position. He was defeated in the Republican primary this spring by challenger Raúl Labrador. In July, Boise attorney Tom Arkoosh joined the race as the Democratic candidate after the nominee dropped out.
Labrador, who has raised $313,000 since his opponent entered the race and $943,000 total, boasts support from former attorney general and Lt. Gov. David Leroy, as well as the Conservative Political Action Coalition and former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. Arkoosh, who has raised $294,000, has made headlines thanks to support from Republicans like former Idaho Secretary of State Ben Ysursa and former Republican attorney general and Idaho Supreme Court justice Jim Jones.
Arkoosh has said he’ll be “a mouthpiece for the law” if elected, while Labrador has touted himself as “a fighter” who will take an aggressive tact as attorney general. Each candidate has accused the other of trying to bring personal political views into an office meant to be partial only to state law.
Arkoosh wants no ‘culture’ war
Arkoosh earned his law degree from the University of Idaho after completing his undergraduate degree at Harvard. He served as Gem County prosecutor and in the Washington Attorney General’s Office before opening his own practice. He specializes in civil, commercial and natural resources law and has served as a lobbyist for the Surface Water Coalition.
Arkoosh told the Idaho Statesman in an interview that he thinks his experience with complex water law will prove useful as Idaho faces drought conditions and increased competition for water rights. Arkoosh said he wants to address growing issues with fentanyl, an opioid linked to growing overdose numbers, and threats from militia groups. He also said he plans to continue Wasden’s aggressive pursuit of high-profile settlements that have brought millions of dollars in compensation to Idaho.
Though he’s running as a Democrat, Arkoosh said he was an unaffiliated voter throughout his life before registering as a Republican earlier this year to participate in the party’s closed primary. It was Labrador’s victory in that primary that piqued his interest in joining the race.
“I feel strongly that we don’t need someone who has promised to be aggressive in a culture war,” Arkoosh told the Statesman.
Arkoosh said he believes his opponent will involve Idaho in losing legal battles, citing Labrador’s support for Idaho’s abortion laws, which are under deliberation in the state Supreme Court. Arkoosh also said he was concerned with Labrador’s false assertions of fraud in the 2020 presidential election, a claim Labrador doubled down on in a debate last month, saying the election was “stolen in plain sight.” In the Idaho Statesman’s primary voter guide, Labrador criticized Wasden for declining to join lawsuits that sought to overturn presidential election results in swing states that voted for Joe Biden.
“His view of culture has no place in the attorney general’s office,” Arkoosh said.
“My opponent talks about freedom and Idaho values,” he added. “What he’s talking about is banning books and arresting librarians, interfering in the woman/doctor relationship, selling public land and defunding public schools. I think (the biggest) Idaho value is the right to be left alone.”
Labrador: Name recognition an advantage
Arkoosh said he believes “fact-based voters” will have a negative association with Labrador, but the former U.S. representative said voters around the state have recognized his name — and that’s been “hugely beneficial.”
Labrador earned his law degree from the University of Washington after graduating from Brigham Young University. He has worked as an immigration lawyer in private practice and in 2006 was elected to the Idaho House. Four years later, he was elected as U.S. representative for the 1st Congressional District, encompassing North Idaho and the western half of the state, including parts of Ada County and Boise.
After three terms in Congress, he ran for governor and lost in the Republican primary to Brad Little by less than 5 percentage points. In 2019, he was elected chair of the Idaho Republican Party, a position he resigned from a year later. He serves as a member of the Central District Health board.
In an interview, Labrador told the Statesman that support for his campaign has been strong since the run-up to the primary. One of the main challenges has been explaining the attorney general role and why it’s important.
Like Arkoosh, Labrador said he intends to focus on fentanyl if he’s elected. He also promised to focus on issues with human trafficking, and said his No. 1 position “is to help people and make sure they feel protected” by approaching consumer protection from a one-on-one angle and creating a solicitor general position.
Labrador pushed back on accusations that he would use the attorney general position to advise the Idaho Legislature on policy. He said he would dedicate a few attorneys to work exclusively with legislators to ensure bills are legally sound.
“Political advice and legal advice are different things,” he said.
Labrador also said he would differ from his Republican predecessor, saying his office would be “more aggressive in how we structure legal advice” than Wasden has been.
“(Attorneys general) do not call balls and strikes,” he said, borrowing a phrase Wasden frequently used to describe his approach. “Attorneys aggressively advocate for their clients.”
This story was originally published November 1, 2022 at 10:43 AM.
