Larry LaRocco | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromIdaho's1st district | |
| In office January 3, 1991 – January 3, 1995 | |
| Preceded by | Larry Craig |
| Succeeded by | Helen Chenoweth-Hage |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Lawrence Paul LaRocco (1946-08-25)August 25, 1946 (age 79) Van Nuys, California, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse | Chris Bideganeta |
| Education | University of Portland (BA) Boston University (MS) |
| Website | Campaign website |
| Military service | |
| Branch/service |  United States Army |
| Years of service | 1969–1972 |
| Rank | Captain |
| Unit | United States Army Europe and Africa |
Lawrence Paul LaRocco (born August 25, 1946) is an American politician who served two terms in theU.S. House of Representatives, representing theIdaho's 1st congressional district from 1991 to 1995.
LaRocco ran for the state's lieutenant governorship in 2006 and for theU.S. Senate in2008, but was defeated byJim Risch in the general election both times.[1]
LaRocco was born inVan Nuys, a neighborhood in theSan Fernando Valley area ofLos Angeles. He earned a Bachelor of Arts from theUniversity of Portland in 1967. He earned his M.S. fromBoston University in 1969. He also studied at theJohns HopkinsSchool of Advanced International Studies.[2]
LaRocco and his wife Chris have two children and two grandchildren.
LaRocco joined theU.S. Army and was commissioned on August 15, 1969; he was eventually promoted tocaptain and served inmilitary intelligence at the Intelligence Data Handling Systems (IDHS) at7th Army Headquarters inHeidelberg, Germany towards the end of his army career. On May 24, 1972, the Baader-Meinhof Gang, the precursor of theRed Army Faction, exploded a car bomb outside ofCampbell Barracks which killed three of LaRocco's fellow soldiers. LaRocco washonorably discharged on June 10, 1972.[3]
In 1975, LaRocco took a job as northernIdaho field co-ordinator for IdahoU.S. SenatorFrank Church, a position he held until Church's defeat in 1980; in 1976, he also was the co-ordinator for theOregonprimary election for Church'sPresidential run.
In the 1982 elections, LaRocco was the Democratic nominee forIdaho's 1st congressional district; he lost to incumbentLarry Craig, but received 46.5 percent of the vote on his first try for public office. LaRocco also gained notice that year for taking jobs for one week in each of the district's 19 counties. He variously worked on a garbage truck, picked apples, waited on tables, worked in a nursing home and on a logging road crew, fedCohosmolt and processed cheese, among other things.
After the 1982 race, he became the vice-president of a brokerage firm in 1983. In 1986, he ran for theIdaho Legislature, losing an Idaho State Senate race inAda County to Republican incumbentJim Risch.
LaRocco wonIdaho's 1st congressional district seat in theUnited States House of Representatives in 1990 when incumbentLarry Craig ran successfully for theUnited States Senate. He was easily re-elected in 1992, winning every county in the district and with a 58% to 37% margin over his main opponent—a surprising margin, considering the 1st has historically been a veryRepublican district.
LaRocco was the only member of Congress from Idaho to vote for theOmnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993.[4] The vote proved to be quite unpopular in the district, and was exploited byRepublicans in LaRocco's subsequent election campaigns.
LaRocco was decisively defeated in his attempt to win a third term in 1994 by RepublicanHelen Chenoweth, becoming one of a large number of Democrats to lose their seats in a nationwide string of Republican victories as the Republicans took control of the House for the first time in 40 years. LaRocco would be the last Democrat to represent Idaho in Congress until the election ofWalt Minnick to the 1st congressional district seat in 2008.
On March 18, 2006, LaRocco filed to run forLieutenant Governor of Idaho. In the May 23 primary he won the nomination but lost to Risch in the November 7, 2006 general election.[5]
In April 2007, LaRocco announced that he would be a candidate for theU.S. Senate. It was the third time LaRocco ran against Risch in an election, as LaRocco and Risch both decisively won their respective primaries on May 27, 2008. LaRocco's campaign invested in agrassroots network.[6]
A key feature of the LaRocco campaign was his "Working for the Senate" program.[7] During the campaign, LaRocco worked at thirty-five separate positions around the state of Idaho. He engaged his opponents in a series of debates around the state of Idaho. On August 18, 2008, he and Independent candidate Rex Rammell met for a one-hour debate inCoeur d'Alene.[8] These two met again inSandpoint on September 10. A third debate took place on the campus of theCollege of Idaho inCaldwell on September 25. LaRocco and Rammell were joined at this event by Libertarian candidate Kent Marmon and independent candidatePro-Life (the legal name of the former Marvin Richardson).[9]
A fourth debate[10] was held between LaRocco and Rammell on October 1, 2008 at theUniversity of Idaho, inMoscow.[citation needed]
KLEW-TV, the CBS affiliate located inLewiston, hosted a debate[11] on October 8 which featured Larry LaRocco, Jim Risch and Rex Rammell. This was the first time that the Republican candidate joined his opponents in a debate in 2008.[12]
Rammell and LaRocco met once again[13] for a debate inIdaho Falls on October 13. Three days later, the two debated for the seventh time. This time the debate was held on the campus of theCollege of Southern Idaho inTwin Falls.[14]
KTVB-TV, the NBC affiliate located inBoise sponsored a debate[15] on October 21 betweenJim Risch, Larry LaRocco, Rex Rammell and Pro-Life on the campus ofNorthwest Nazarene College inNampa. This 90 minute forum was co-hosted by theIdaho Press-Tribune and theIdaho Business Review. It marked only the second time that Republican Jim Risch was present for any of these debates.[citation needed]
The statewide debate[16] hosted byIdaho Public Television, theLeague of Women Voters and the Idaho Press Club was held on October 23 inBoise. Four of the five candidates for the United States Senate were in attendance. Republican Jim Risch was not present.[17]
| U.S. House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromIdaho's 1st congressional district 1991–1995 | Succeeded by |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by Bruce Perry | Democratic nominee forLieutenant Governor of Idaho 2006 | Succeeded by Eldon Wallace |
| Preceded by | Democratic nominee forU.S. Senator fromIdaho (Class 2) 2008 | Succeeded by Nels Mitchell |
| U.S. order of precedence (ceremonial) | ||
| Preceded byas Former U.S. Representative | Order of precedence of the United States as Former U.S. Representative | Succeeded byas Former U.S. Representative |
| Territorial (1863–1890) |
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| Oneat-large seat (1890–1913) |
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| Two at-large seats (1913–1919) |
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| Districts (1919–present) |
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| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
| Other | |
