As Idaho’s 1st Congressional District GOP primary approaches, candidate Vaughn Ward is working to show Idahoans he’s one of them.

The Magic Valley native’s campaign message is traditional and conservative, something he calls common sense. Ward and state Rep. Raul Labrador, R-Eagle, are competing against three other candidates for a chance to challenge Democratic Congressman Walt Minnick in November.

Ward said he’s determined to get government out of Idaho’s businesses and allow hard work to uphold Idaho, a state he said was created by survivors.

“Idahoans are industrious, we are entrepreneurs and we are smart,” Ward said. “We don’t need the government to create opportunity. We can do that.”

A Jerome High School graduate who spent much of his childhood on his grandparents’ Shoshone farm, Ward said his upbringing gave him a strong work ethic. After graduating from Boise State University with a degree in political science, Ward volunteered in Dirk Kempthorne’s 1992 U.S. Senate campaign and later accepted a position as a legislative aide in Washington.

“My life has been one of service,” Ward said. “It has been shaped by Idaho and by the way I was raised as a kid. It is worthwhile to give something back to Idaho and the nation.”

A decorated Marine veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Ward said many sacrifices have been made to keep the U.S. free. As the son of a single mother, he saw daily sacrifices made in his own home. Now a father of two — daughter, Avé, 4, and son, William, 1 — Ward is concerned for his children’s future.

“I disagree with where our government is headed,” he said. “What are we going to hand over to the next generation? A country of debt or one of opportunity? A socialist or a capitalistic government?”

Laura Fitzgerald, broker and owner of RE/MAX American Dream Reality in Twin Falls, attended high school with Ward in Jerome. She said she’s confident in Ward’s representation for her and her children’s future.

“He understands the working person because he comes from a working background — we both did,” Fitzgerald said. “There were no extra luxuries. He knows how to work and since most of Idaho is 90 percent working class, he understands us well.”

Fitzgerald said Ward, who was recently endorsed by 2008 GOP vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin, brings a fresh approach to the political world. “He isn’t a career politician,” she said. “He will bring to Washington the ideals of Idaho.”

Aside from his stand on the importance of limited government and providing incentives for the expansion of small businesses, Ward runs on a platform of conservative family values, reformation of health care to a patient-controlled model, securing U.S. boarders, and strengthening and maintaining the military.

The intelligent, entrepreneurial spirit that resides in the people of Idaho is what drives Ward to journey from his military background to a new playing field in politics. Patrick Hughes, president of the Twin Falls-based Idaho Collection Bureau, said it doesn’t surprise him Ward is running for Congress. The two share a long history, dating back to playing high school football together and working together as teens.

“When he got back from the war, he wanted to educate people about what needs to be done to support the troops and support the war effort,” Hughes said. “Fighting for his country was more than just going to Iraq and Afghanistan, it was teaching the people over there how to live and succeed.”

Hughes said that while this is Ward’s first race for public office, it won’t be his last.

“You better watch out. You are going to see this gentleman out there fighting for what he believes in,” Hughes said. “Once he puts his mind to it, there is no stopping him.”