Oregon Public Broadcasting

Idaho Republican Lieutenant Governor Jim Risch has been elected to the U.S. Senate. Risch will replace longtime incumbent Larry Craig, who is leaving the Senate after an airport bathroom sex scandal. Correspondent Doug Nadvornick reports from Boise.

Republican Jim Risch won by a wide margin over former Democratic Congressman Larry LaRocco and three third-party candidates.

The Democrat ran an aggressive campaign. He went so far as to accuse Risch of  benefiting personally from the property tax cut approved by the legislature in 2006.

But that and other charges didn't stick. After it was clear he would win, Risch said he was not only happy that he‚d won, but that he'd won decisively.

Jim Risch: "It's gratifying to know that people recognize and appreciate the long public service I've had and the good things that I've done for the state."

Risch says even with a Democratic majority in the Senate, his top priority will be to make President Bush's federal tax cuts permanent. And he pledged to work with colleagues across the aisle.