ID 1: Freshman Republican Chenoweth Holds Off Challenger

(AllPolitics, Nov. 6) -- Freshman Republican Rep. Helen Chenoweth overcame mismanagement allegations to hold off the challenge of Democrat Dan Williams for Idaho's 1st District seat.

With 92 percent of the precincts reporting, CNN declared Chenoweth the winner with 50 percent of the vote while Williams had 48 percent.

Chenowith had to contend with repeated allegations of personal and official financial mismanagement, including her own admission that she did not disclose a $50,000 loan from a former business client.

Her strong opposition to President Clinton's environmental and gun control policies appealed to voters, but her often acerbic remarks about environmentalists could be alienating.

Williams, a Boise lawyer who worked as an aide to former Democratic Gov. Cecil Andrus, tried to claim the political center and paint Chenowith as extreme.

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