October 20, 2011

Dan Popkey: Idaho Democrats' newest hope is Jimmy Farris, who went from Lewiston High School to the NFL

Copyright: © 2011 Idaho Statesman

Democrats are putting their faith in a 33-year-old candidate for 1st District Congress who has cast just one ballot in his lifetime — for Barack Obama.

“Oh, that’ll help him inIdaho,” snickered Jim Weatherby, the emeritus professor at Boise State who graduated from Lewiston High in 1961, 35 years before Farris.

Farris had a storied against-the-odds football career. But he couldn’t be more raw as candidate, admitting he didn’t vote until 2008, the year he started paying attention to politics.

“I’ve always been just so unsettled that I never had an opportunity” to vote, Farris said during a conference call with reporters Wednesday. “There was a point early on when I was in college and shortly thereafter where I just didn’t think it mattered.”

That’s not to say that Farris doesn’t have a great story to tell in his just-announced challenge to freshman Republican Rep. Raul Labrador. He has the support of Democratic Chairman Larry Grant, who urged Farris to aim high rather than make a more conventional virgin run for the Legislature or county office.

Farris is among the greatest high school receivers in state history and an All-American at the University of Montana. He’s a legend in Missoula, where he had a knack for dramatic game-ending catches, including a one-handed grab to beat the Idaho Vandals in 2000.

Despite being smallish and relatively slow, his tenacity put him on the roster of three NFL teams between 2001 and 2007. He won a Super Bowl ring standing on the sideline for the New England Patriots in 2002. Career line: seven receptions for 118 yards and two touchdowns, along with 14 tackles on special teams.

“He’s already led a highly improbable life,” said Rep. Brian Cronin, D-Boise, who introduced Farris for his debut speech at Saturday’s Ada County Democratic Party JFK dinner. “I think it’s pretty inspiring and says a great deal about his determination, focus and work ethic.”

Cronin said Farris was warmly received by a crowd of 250. “People were writing him checks on the spot,” Cronin said. “I’ve never seen that before.”

Farris sounded likeable and quick-minded during the interview and a subsequent call with me. He was an NFL analyst for Comcast Southeast after his career ended with the Atlanta Falcons in 2007, paid by appearance. His dad is a retired principal, his mom worked with House Minority Leader John Rusche in Lewiston and his uncle, Mike Farris, is principal at Caldwell High School.

When I asked Farris how he’d explain his 2009 statement to the Missoulian newspaper that the U of I football program “kind of jerked me around” and pulled a scholarship offer, he had a good quip: “I’m gonna say that they gotta chance to get it right this time. Give the Idaho kid the job.”

Farris has some huge hurdles to overcome, starting with his amateur understanding of issues.

Jobs are his top issue, but he wouldn’t say whether he’d vote for Obama’s jobs bill. “Well, let me say this: I would have voted for a jobs bill ... something that would create jobs immediately, something that would get people in Idaho and the country back to work.”

Farris acknowledged “there’s a lot of things that I just don’t know” and that he needs to “brush up.”

“He’s clearly got a lot of homework to do,” Cronin said. “I have full faith he’s going to do it.”

Though family and football ties will help, Farris just moved to Meridian in August, from Atlanta. The newly reconfigured 1st District lost thousands of swing voters in Boise, making it tougher still for a Democrat. And Obama will be a significant drag at the top of the ticket.

“You have to weigh the anti-incumbent sentiment with the great animosity the majority of Idahoans have against the incumbent president,” Weatherby said.

Labrador didn’t reply to my request for comment Wednesday, perhaps because he figured speaking his new opponent’s name is bad luck.

Rusche had breakfast with Farris at the IHOP in Lewiston earlier this year, figuring he was eying a legislative race. While Rusche is waiting to see whether other candidates emerge, he’s glad to have a challenger to Labrador.

“I’m not surprised he made the decision to go for Congress because he’s a straightforward, do-it-or-die-trying guy,” Rusche said. “If voters really want somebody other than the typical politician-congressman candidate, we’ve got it for you.”

Dan Popkey: 377-6438