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Simpson has been in office continuously for 30 years (14 in the ID legislature, 6 years as House Speaker, 16 more years in Congress).

He also has the distinction of being the 2nd longest continuously serving member from Idaho (behind Republican Addison Smith, who broke the record some 85 years ago, and would’ve served even longer had he not been one of the anti-GOP 1932 casualties). Most ID House members serve an average of 3 terms and move up to the Senate or retire. Simpson’s “turn” as Senator should’ve been in 2004 when Larry Craig should’ve retired.

In any event, Simpson turns 64 this year and has done virtually nothing to slow the growth of government, so it’s time for some new blood.

Republican Congressman Mike Simpson is a go-along-to-get-along squish who only seems to stick his head out when he’s stabbing conservatives in the back (such as supporting Obama’s Cash for Clunkers program and funding for ACORN). According to the American Conservative Union (ACU), Simpson’s conservative rating during 2013 was an embarrassing 46, less than half than of conservative Republican Raul Labrador of the other Idaho congressional district (who received a perfect 100).

With a record like that, Mike Simpson would be considered a RINO even if he represented a district in which Romney and Obama basically were tied in vote percentage, but Simpson purports to represent (using the word loosely, I guess) the ID-02, which gave Romney over 64% of the vote in 2012. As such, Simpson is an even worse fit for a district in the GOP House than is the 100% pro-abortion Richard Hanna in the NY-22 (which voted for Romney, but gave him nowhere near 64%).

In the past, Simpson has skated through the primary thanks to his Mormon affiliation (Mormons voters are close to a majority in the ID-02 GOP primary), establishment support and lackluster opposition, but this time he’s facing a top-notch challenger in Bryan Smith, a true-blue conservative endorsed by the Club for Growth and several TEA Party affiliates. Bryan Smith has an excellent chance of unseating Simpson, given that he was able to raise over $500,000 by the end of 2013 (Simpson had raised more than twice as much, but Smith won’t be shut out of the airwaves). Moreover, Simpson won’t be able to count on block support from Mormon voters this time because Bryan Smith is a Mormon as well. This is a race that conservatives can win if we all do our part.

In the past few months, you probably have heard appeals on behalf of self-anointed “TEA Party conservatives” who were challenging “establishment Republicans” whose voting record was deemed to be insufficiently conservative. In many (perhaps most) of those appeals, the candidate being touted as the “true conservative” actually was not as conservative as the incumbent (and would improve the Democrats’ odds of winning), and the incumbent often had done nothing wrong apart from being an incumbent. Perhaps you have read my posts signaling my concerns with the neophyte candidates whose conservatism and electability was in question, and my defense of the incumbents who had compiled conservative voting records in office. But just like in the case of Mississippi’s Chris McDaniel (who is challenging the RINOish Senator Thad Cochran) and South Carolina’s Richard Cash (one of several conservatives running against backstabbing Senator Lindsey Graham), Bryan Smith’s challenge of Mike Simpson is a no-brainer for conservatives.

Smith is a true TEA Party conservative who would be guaranteed to win the general election (heck, no Democrat has announced for the seat, and the filing deadline is this Friday!), while Simpson is a RINO whose voting record would be too liberal for a swing district in Iowa, much less a safe district in Idaho. So forget about Obama’s cousin in Kansas or the carpetbagger with 8 kids running in VA-10: helping Bryan Smith beat Mike Simpson in ID-02 is a fight worth fighting, and one we can win.

Bryan Smith is the real deal. There’s no reason whatsoever for a fence sitting Republican to babysit a district that voted so overwhelmingly for Romney.

Check out where he stands on salient conservative issues:

TAXES

I will not support ANY tax increase as a member of Congress and would not have supported the fiscal cliff deal passed by Congress this year that raised our taxes by $600 billion. I believe taxes are already too high. I support lowering taxes on families, individuals and job creators.

SPENDING

The recent growth of spending in the Federal budget is unacceptable. It threatens our national security, and our children’s and grandchildren’s futures. I support spending caps that limit Congress’s ability to spend taxpayer dollars. I oppose making taxpayers pay for wasteful pork projects and special-interest giveaways to political cronies.

THE NATIONAL DEBT

I oppose increasing the debt limit without implementing substantial spending cuts. For too long, we have mortgaged our future by increasing the debt limit to pay for bail outs, government-run health care, the failed stimulus, and a host of other wasteful programs.

PROTECTING THE SECOND AMENDMENT

I strongly believe the Second Amendment guarantees our right to bear arms for sport and protection and will work to protect this vital right.

PRO-LIFE

As a member of the U.S. Congress I will provide a voice to the voiceless and fight to protect unborn children.

ENERGY

It is essential for the prosperity of our nation that we become energy independent. I strongly support nuclear energy. Our country needs a reliable, base load source of energy, and nuclear energy satisfies this need.

I support the use of other energy sources such as natural gas, hydro, oil and coal. Our nation is blessed with an abundance of these kinds of energy resources. I oppose government policy that seeks to overregulate the coal and natural gas industries out of business. The federal government needs to make energy resources available on federal land.

Our country needs a comprehensive energy policy that promotes domestic nuclear power, coal, natural gas and oil exploration. Wind and solar are not reliable base load energy sources.

IMMIGRATION

We are a nation of immigrants and should welcome those who want to work hard and live the American Dream. We must do so in a manner consistent with respect for the rule of law and our tradition of legal fairness. The first step to a sound immigration policy is to secure our borders. It is critical to our country’s security that we know who is entering our country; as long as the border is not secure, we will not be able to achieve this goal.

We need to remove incentives for people to come here illegally. People here illegally should not be receiving benefits from our federal or state governments.

Immigrants should be given a chance to live the American Dream. But that does not mean people who break the law and come here illegally should be rewarded with amnesty. Amnesty is a policy that is unfair to those who come to this country legally and play by the rules.

Glad to see Smith is a FIGHTER!

“Bryan Smith, Idaho, 2nd Congressional District

Not only is Bryan a full-spectrum conservative – from fiscal issues to social issues, guns to illegal immigration – he is willing to fight for those values.

He has watched the failure of the Boehner House in restoring our Republic and is committed to shaking up the core of the establishment when he goes to Washington – even if that means “eating lunch by himself.”

He is willing to articulate the message that rugged individualism, free markets, and productivity raises the level of prosperity for all Americans; that Washington central planning has foisted upon us a 50-year failed experiment in fighting poverty. ..”

excerpt http://madisonproject.com/candidates/