Gov. Palin will rally for Vaughn Ward in Idaho today

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Sarah Palin will be in Idaho today to appear at a rally in Boise with GOP Congressional candidate Vaughn Ward, an Iraq veteran fighting for the opportunity to challenge Democrat Walt Minnick for the 1st Congressional District U.S. House seat. First Ward must win Tuesday's Republican primary against state Rep. Raul Labrador.

Gov. Palin has endorsed Ward, while Labrador secured the backing of Idaho's largest tea party organization last week. But Tea Party Boise organizer Russ Smerz says Palin will be well received and admits that she is expected to give Ward's campaign a boost. That contradicts Labrador press secretary Dennis Mansfield, who said he doesn’t believe Gov. Palin's visit will do much to help the Ward campaign. Nevertheless, Mansfield admitted in a e-mail to supporters that he and many Labrador supporters would likely go to the Ward rally to see the 2008 GOP vice presidential candidate:

“I’ll bet a lot of our supporters would go to bask in her star power,” Mansfield said. “She’s pretty cool.”

Meanwhile, Labrador, perhaps worried that attacks on Sarah Palin by his supporters could backfire on his campaign, posted on his Facebook page:

“It’s not unusual to see posts of disappointment in Gov. Palin by those who do not call themselves conservative. They are everywhere. What IS of interest is when solidly conservative Bloggers write about a prevailing and expanding disappointment in her. Sarah Palin’s visit to Idaho on behalf of the... Vaughn Ward Congressional Campaign has prompted many comments by conservatives. We are disappointed with her coming into this Primary Race... but we urge conservatives to STOP the attacks on Gov. Palin.”

Ward said that his campaign is not paying Gov. Palin to appear in Boise. She will be there as a family friend.

- JP