Republicans in Idaho continue to battle each other in the deep-red state.
"Former Idaho politicians, state leaders and community members are joining together as the North Idaho Republicans," KXLY-TV in Spokane reported Wednesday. "They say there was a 'takeover of the Kootenai Co. Republican committee' in the last 10 years by Libertarians, Constitutionalists, John Birchers and Redoubters.
The American Redoubt is a term coined in 2011 by survivalist author and blogger James Wesley Rawles, who urged far-right survivalists to move to Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, and the eastern parts of Washington and Oregon.
"Though Idaho is one of the more conservative states in the union, Redoubters lump many of its Republican leaders with liberals. Some leaders have been pushed out of office and replaced with people who believe the government is coming for everyone’s guns and that one-world government is hiding behind a nearby tree," Spokesman-Review opinion editor Gary Crooks explained in 2016. "But the battle for the Republican Party, which is essentially the whole ballgame in Idaho, will drag on. Redoubters will recruit others to move to North Idaho, and possibly enlist them in their political battles."
During a news conference announcing North Idaho Republicans, the event was interrupted by a man with a "fake Republicans" sign.
"Riggs says the Kootenai County Republican Central Committee has alienated a lot of traditional Republicans or what people often referred to as 'RINOs' (Republicans in Name Only)," the network reported.
A second group of longtime Idaho GOP leaders, Take Back Idaho, is backing GOP Gov. Brad Little, who is being challenged in the GOP primary by Trump-backed Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin.
Watch:
Former state reps, sheriffs form new North Idaho Republican groupwww.youtube.com
