Larry LaRocco

Larry LaRocco
Member of theU.S. House of Representatives fromIdaho's1stdistrict
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 Van Nuys, California,U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Chris Bideganeta
Residence(s)	McCall, Idaho,U.S.
Alma mater	University of Portland(BA) Boston University(MS)
Profession	Banker
Website	Larry LaRocco for Senate
Military service
Branch/service	United States Army
Years of service	1969–1972
Rank	Captain
Unit	7th Army

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 districtfrom 1991 to 1995.

LaRocco ran for lieutenant governorship in 2006 and theU.S. Senatein2008;he was defeated byJim Rischin the general election both times.

Early life and family

LaRocco was born inVan Nuys,a neighborhood in theSan Fernando Valleyarea ofLos Angeles.He earned a Bachelor of Arts from theUniversity of Portlandin 1967. He earned his M.S. fromBoston Universityin 1969. He also studied at theJohns HopkinsSchool of Advanced International Studies.

LaRocco and his wife Chris have two children and two grandchildren.

Military service

LaRocco joined theU.S. Armyand was commissioned on August 15, 1969; he was eventually promoted tocaptainand served inmilitary intelligenceat the Intelligence Data Handling Systems (IDHS) at7th ArmyHeadquarters 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 Barrackswhich killed three of LaRocco's fellow soldiers. LaRocco washonorably dischargedon June 10, 1972.

Political career

LaRocco withTim Ryanand Sheldon D. Repp in 2003

In 1975, LaRocco took a job as northernIdahofield 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 electionfor Church'sPresidentialrun.

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, fedCohosmoltand 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 Countyto Republican incumbentJim Risch.

U.S. House of Representatives

LaRocco wonIdaho's 1st congressional districtseat in theUnited States House of Representativesin 1990 when incumbentLarry Craigran successfully for theUnited States Senate.He was easily re-elected in 1992, winning every county in the district and with a 50,000-vote margin over his main opponent—a surprising margin, considering the 1st has historically been a veryRepublicandistrict.

LaRocco was the only member of Congress from Idaho to vote for theOmnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993.The vote proved to be quite unpopular in the district, and was exploited byRepublicansin 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 Minnickto the 1st congressional district seat in 2008.

Lieutenant Governor campaign

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.

U.S. Senate campaign

See also:2008 United States Senate election in Idaho

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 agrassrootsnetwork.

A key feature of the LaRocco campaign was his "Working for the Senate" program.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.These two met again inSandpointon September 10. A third debate took place on the campus of theCollege of IdahoinCaldwellon 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).

A fourth debatewas held between LaRocco and Rammell on October 1, 2008 at theUniversity of Idaho,inMoscow.

KLEW-TV,the CBS affiliate located inLewiston,hosted a debateon 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.

Rammell and LaRocco met once againfor a debate inIdaho Fallson 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 IdahoinTwin Falls.

KTVB-TV,the NBC affiliate located inBoisesponsored a debateon October 21 betweenJim Risch,Larry LaRocco, Rex Rammell and Pro-Life on the campus ofNorthwest Nazarene CollegeinNampa.This 90 minute forum was co-hosted by theIdaho Press-Tribuneand theIdaho Business Review.It marked only the second time that Republican Jim Risch was present for any of these debates.

The statewide debatehosted byIdaho Public Television,theLeague of Women Votersand 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.

External links

• Larry LaRocco for U.S. Senateofficial campaign website
• Biographyat theBiographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Financial information (federal office)at theFederal Election Commission
• ProfileatVote Smart
• Campaign contributionsatOpenSecrets.org
• ProfileatSourceWatch
• Larry LaRoccoatCurlie
• AppearancesonC-SPAN