Points By Drew Pritt

She decided to run for Congress because her son urged her to do so. Without any formal campaign structure, donations from P.A.C.’s, and grassroots support from friends far and wide she defeated an entrenched politician who had previously run for U.S. Senate. Now, as she enters the General Election against incumbent U.S. Congressman Mike Simpson (R), Holmes believes she has the key to success in Idaho….be yourself.

She is passionate about family and education. It comes through in almost everything she says. Since her primary victory, in which she swept every county in Idaho’s 2nd Congressional District with 70% of the vote, she has seen her fundraising spike, and she is gaining notoriety and notice across the district. In this year of anti-Washington, D.C. and anti-incumbent moods, the Republicans would be wise to take nothing for granted. If Holmes continues to prove herself as a credible candidate with a compelling message, an upset is not without possibility. Don’t forget, in the last anti-incumbent Election Year mood (1994), longtime D.C. power-broker Congressmen who outspent their opponents 10-1 in some cases were tossed out.

Holmes is a trained chemist and a successful realtor. She had previously has served as an adjunct lecturer in chemistry at Boise State University. Her husband, Randall, holds a Ph.D. in mathematics and is a member of the mathematics department at Boise State University. She is the mother of three young men.

If you wish to see and hear this exciting Congressional candidate, who I believe is the modern-day equivalent of Mrs. Smith Goes To Washington, then she will be a guest speaker at Drinking Liberally on July 3rd at 7:00. The event will be at MarCellars (431 Park Ave, Idaho Falls). She will also be marching in the Boise and Idaho Falls Independence Day parades.