BOISE -- Less than 24 hours after being accused of plagiarizing campaign material, congressional candidate Vaughn Ward has made a change in leadership in his Republican primary race. Campaign manager Ryan O'Barto is out, replaced by Al Henderson. The candidate says he reluctantly accepted O'Barto's resignation Friday, but Washington, D.C.-based Politico reported online that O'Barto was fired.
Ward also has hired Mike Tracy as a consultant in the final days before the GOP primary. Tracy is a former press secretary of Idaho Sen. Larry Craig.
News that O'Barto either quit or was fired came on the heels of a story in The Spokesman-Review that Ward plagiarized position statements from other Republicans and posted them on his own Web site. Ward said the statements were posted accidentally. It is the latest in a series of stories that portrayed Ward in an embarrassing light.
Politico quoted a Republican strategist working with Ward's campaign as saying, "Vaughn has taken full responsibility. He is upset about it, and he knows these mistakes have hurt him. He is moving forward by replacing his team with campaign professionals."
Ward is taking on Raul Labrador, a state representative, in the GOP primary May 25. The winner will challenge first-term Democrat Walt Minnick in Idaho's 1st District in November.
Ward and Labrador will face off in a live televised debate on KTVB 24/7 (Channel 7.2, Cable Channel 28) Sunday at 7 p.m.
