The North Idaho Political Action Committee (NIPAC) has announced the slate of candidates it has endorsed for the 2012 Republican primary election.

NIPAC has identified the primary race for Idaho House seat 2B, currently held by Phil Hart, as its highest priority in the May Republican primary.

"There are four candidates vying for the seat, and NIPAC is concerned that such a fractured field greatly assists the re-election of Mr. Hart. Unified support for Ed Morse is the best way to restore integrity and accountability to the position," said a press release sent out Thursday by the group.

NIPAC’s endorsements are listed below.

Legislative District #1:

Shawn Keough (Senate)

Eric Anderson (Seat A)

George Eskridge (Seat B)

District #2:

Mark Fisher (Seat A)

Ed Morse (Seat B)

District #3:

Jeff Tyler (Seat A)

Frank Henderson (Seat B)

District #4:

Luke Malek (Seat A)

Kootenai County Prosecuting Attorney:

Barry McHugh

Kootenai County Commissioner District #1:

Bruce Noble

Commissioner District #3:

Dan Green

In the county prosecutor’s race, the group commended Barry McHugh for "cleaning up a scandal-plagued prosecutor’s office." Equally important, they said, is that "his opponent has no experience in criminal law or prosecution."

NIPAC board members, Brad Corkill and Sandy Patano, commented, in a prepared statement, on some notable omissions, particularly in the crowded sheriff’s race and the Legislative District 2 Senate race.

“In the District 2 Senate race, the candidates are a former state senator and a current state senator (Mike Jorgenson and Steve Vick). We simply couldn’t reach a consensus and felt they were equally qualified,” Patano said.

Corkill said that in the sheriff's race, there are two Republican candidates capable of doing a good job — Keith Hutcheson and Ben Wolfinger.

"It was clear, though, that we could not support John Green. He’s expressed some peculiar views advocating the arrest of federal law enforcement officers in the county, and his agenda contains ideas that would expand the role of county sheriff beyond what most law-abiding citizens would accept," Corkill said. "Last but not least, Mr. Green has served as legal counsel for Phil Hart, which calls into question how he would interpret and enforce the law as sheriff.”

Members of the NIPAC board are:  Jim Addis, Brad Corkill, Dean Haagenson, Maggie Lyons, Ron Nilson, Sandy Patano, Jim Pierce, Jim Riley, Laurie Thomas and Vaughn Ward.

NIPAC was formed with the goal of finding well-qualified conservative candidates to run for office who are law-abiding, principled, pragmatic problem-solvers. All members of NIPAC are North Idaho residents.

All the candidates endorsed were chosen by consensus. No endorsements were given for candidates who are unopposed in the primary. NIPAC anticipates making another round of endorsements for the November general election.