Mainstream Republicans — stung and stunned by Vaughn Ward's historic freefall — should grudgingly thank their conservative friends.

The right wing spared the GOP five more months of the kind of embarrassment Ward was uniquely able to provide.

The right wing gave the GOP a chance to reclaim the 1st Congressional District this fall. And "a chance" is better than "no chance."

Right-place-at-the-right-time Republican nominee Raul Labrador will have to raise money (and fast). He'll need the state and national GOP support that coalesced, inexplicably, behind Ward. Labrador rode a grassroots campaign to victory Tuesday night, but that was a one-shot deal.

Labrador was the beneficiary of a lot of what the old politicos call "free media" — and I'm not just talking about coverage in traditional news sources like this paper. This race became a story everywhere: on the state and national blogs, on Facebook, on Twitter. Almost all the coverage was focused on Ward — and on untruths and missteps that were too numerous and too serious to ignore. All Labrador had to do was position himself on the fringe of the fray, while Ward did most of the work for him.

Moving forward, it is important to remember where things stood just six weeks ago, as Ward embarked on his breathtaking journey to unelectability. Ward had money, organization, a growing list of influential endorsements. He appeared to be well on his way to a workmanlike primary win. Labrador, meanwhile, had let go of his campaign manager, because he couldn't afford him.

Labrador still has fundraising and organizational disadvantages, which make him something of a weakened candidate moving into the fall election.

On May 5, the Labrador campaign had $35,919 cash on hand. Unopposed in the primary, Democratic incumbent Walt Minnick had $935,828. For every buck in Labrador's war chest, Minnick has $26. As an incumbent, Minnick can raise money relatively easily, setting the admission price for this campaign.

It will be easier for Labrador to raise some money this fall, but he still has to mend fences with the mainstream GOP, and that's not necessarily easy. Like Minnick, Labrador is unafraid to buck his party's leadership. During the primary, Labrador touted his opposition to Gov. Butch Otter's gas tax proposals as a sign of his willingness to stand up to his friends.

The Minnick campaign won't let Labrador run from it. In a statement Wednesday, Minnick spokesman John Foster went out of his way to bring up Labrador's reputation as a "combative politician." Expect plenty of repetition and elaboration on this theme. It's smart politics. Then again, Labrador cannot reasonably expect to get to run against two crashingly inept campaigns in the same calendar year.

How else can you describe a Republican candidate who plagiarized Barack Obama, and wound up in Jay Leno's monologue? (Embedded video from KTVB.com)

A lot of influential mainstream Idaho Republicans should be embarrassed for rallying behind Ward. If it eases their pain, things could be worse. This political laughingstock could have wound up their nominee.

Luckily for them, conservative voters took the time to actually do some candidate vetting. It's strange that so many longtime politicos never seemed to bother.

More reading: After Tuesday night's GOP upset, one national site likes Minnick's odds for re-election.

Get Twitter updates on my blog and column and Statesman editorials. Become a follower. You can also get updates on Facebook's Idaho Statesman Opinion Page.