Bill Sali

Sali was the first Idaho congressman to fail to win a second term in 56 years, since Republican John Travers Wood was defeated in 1952.

William Thomas Sali (born February 17, 1954) is an American lawyer and politician who served as a congressman from Idaho.

Born in Portsmouth, Ohio, Sali moved to Idaho with his family in 1962 at age ten.

He graduated from Capital High School in Boise in 1972 and enrolled at Boise State College, attending for two years.

Sali worked full-time for over four years, then returned to the renamed Boise State University in 1979, and earned a Bachelor of Business Administration in 1981 at age 29.

He was admitted to the University of Idaho law school in Moscow, where he received a Juris Doctor in 1984.

Sali was first elected to the Idaho House of Representatives in 1990.

There, he gained a reputation as a staunch conservative on social and economic issues, frequently drawing the ire of the more moderate Republican house leadership.

Sali served as vice-chairman of the state House Health and Welfare Committee and as Chairman of the Special Committee on Health Care.

He also sat on the Commerce, Industry and Tourism Committee, the Human Resources Committees, and the Judiciary, Rules, and Administration Committee.

Minnick defeated Sali 51% to 49%, becoming the first Democrat to win a congressional election in Idaho in 16 years (Larry LaRocco was reelected in 1992).

While Sali carried 11 of the district's 19 counties, he could not overcome a 5,000-vote deficit in Ada County (home to both Sali and Minnick), which accounts for nearly two-thirds of the district's population.

Sali was elected to an open seat in Congress in 2006.

On May 23, 2006, Sali won the Republican nomination in Idaho's 1st congressional district with 26 percent of the vote in a six-way race.

The seat came open when three-term incumbent Butch Otter gave it up to make a successful run for governor.

Sali's opponent in the general election campaign was Democrat Larry Grant.

Over the years, Sali had been involved in disputes with some prominent Idaho Republicans, including former Idaho House speaker Bruce Newcomb and 2nd district congressman Mike Simpson.

Despite past arguments, the Idaho Republican Party and Republican Party came out in support of Sali's candidacy.

Vice President Dick Cheney, RNC Chairman Ken Mehlman, and then Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert all came to Idaho to support Sali, and his campaign received substantial financial backing from the Club for Growth, the Republican National Committee, and the National Right to Life PAC.

Sali was elected to Congress on November 7, 2006, defeating Grant 50% to 45% – a margin of only 11,900 votes.

He was likely helped by coattails from Otter's gubernatorial bid; Otter won all but two counties in the district.

In 2006, 5.4 million children were eligible but not enrolled in SCHIP or Medicaid and 9.4 million total children were uninsured.

Bill Sali voted against the first House bill, which passed along party lines.

He opposed legislation to raise the minimum wage to $7.25 per hour, as well as a Republican motion to recommit.

He argued that a minimum wage violates the "natural laws" of the free market, and to make his point he (facetiously) proposed the "Obesity Reduction and Health Promotion Act" which would mandate a 10% reduction in the force of gravity.

Sali has consistently voted to support the Iraq War and has opposed all legislation aimed at withdrawing the United States' troops from Iraq.

Sali said, "None of us like war. We all wish that victory in Iraq had been swift, clear-cut and definitive and that a stable and free government would have been operating in Baghdad, able to stand on its own. Clearly great progress has been made, particularly in the past year, and the future of Iraq is now more promising than ever. Yet, we remain at war. At a minimum, we owe it to our soldiers and to our national security to win this war by supporting those in the field. Only by doing so can we bring our soldiers safely home."

Sali was a member of the House Immigration Reform Caucus and opposed President Bush's proposal for comprehensive immigration policy reform.

"Amnesty does nothing to secure our borders," Sali said.

A Republican, he served a single term in the United States House of Representatives, representing Idaho's 1st congressional district from 2007 to 2009.

Sali previously served in the Idaho Legislature as a member of the House.

Sali was elected president of the 2007–08 Republican freshman class.

In 2007, Congress took up the reauthorization of the State Children's Health Insurance Program, which provides health care for about 6 million children and 670,000 adults from families who earn too much money to qualify for Medicare but not enough to afford health insurance.

Congressional Democrats and many Republicans tried to use the opportunity to dramatically expand the program but were opposed by President George W. Bush and other Republicans.

In July 2007, Sali introduced legislation allowing for separate votes on bills that contain multiple subjects.

Sali based his proposal on his experience in the Idaho Legislature, noting that Idaho's constitution forbids grouping unrelated projects in a single bill.

He was defeated for reelection in 2008 by Democrat Walt Minnick.

Sali sought reelection to the House in 2008.

He defeated Iraq War veteran Matthew Salisbury in the May 2008 Republican primary, but was defeated by Democratic challenger Walt Minnick in the general election.

Minnick also served only one term before being defeated by Raúl Labrador in 2010.