Races for state attorneys general are emerging as important battlegrounds this year as Republicans seek to expand their reach in the office sometimes referred to as “the people's lawyer.”
Idaho Attorney General Lawrence Wasden, a Republican, has won re-election multiple times in a state where the GOP dominates politically and, in his telling, has “a 20-year track record of calling balls and strikes fairly and squarely.”
That may not be enough for him to survive a GOP primary challenge and keep his seat. Wasden was one of seven Republican attorneys general to opt against joining an ill-fated challenge of the 2020 presidential election results in other states. And last fall, he declined to join other GOP attorneys general in a letter to President Joe Biden complaining about vaccine mandates, although he ended up joining lawsuits against several of them.
His more moderate positions have put him at odds with a growing share of Republicans who chafe at COVID-19 restrictions and repeat the false claim that widespread fraud cost former President Donald Trump re-election. Wasden is facing two challengers who are to his right in the Republican primary as he seeks a sixth term as the state's top government lawyer.
One of the challengers, Arthur McComber, said a key function of the attorney general's role is to act as a watchdog against federal power — something he said Wasden hasn’t done enough.
“It’s basically a misunderstanding of the attorney general position,” said McComber, a...
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