Voters have some other choices when they head to the polls Nov. 4 and pick a successor to three-term Republican Larry Craig.
In addition to Democrat Larry LaRocco and Republican Jim Risch, three third-party candidates round out the ballot.
Libertarian Kent Marmon joins two Independents, an organic farmer from Gem County who changed his name to Pro-Life, and eastern Idaho veterinarian Rex Rammell. Of those three, Rammell has waged the most aggressive campaign, traveling around the state in a massive motor home and crusading as the only candidate truly committed to shrinking the size and scope of the federal government.
On the trail and in debates, Rammell, has vowed to cut federal spending and dismantle the Department of Education, supported legal changes to charge abortion doctors with murder and he's denounced as myth the theory that human activity is responsible for global warming.
Historically, Independent candidates draw no more than 2 percent of the vote, said Jim Weatherby, a professor emeritus of political science at Boise State University. But Rammell has spent more money and campaigned more aggressively than previous third-party hopefuls, which could siphon off more conservative votes this year, Weatherby said.
"He clearly has the conservative credentials,'' Weatherby said of Rammell. "But what comes out is his anger over Jim Risch. I think his appeal is hurt by the stridency of his attacks on Risch.''
