BOISE — Congressman-elect Walt Minnick says western and northern Idaho voters who chose him over one-term incumbent Republican Bill Sali need only look one state southward to see how a Democratic lawmaker can be effective in a largely GOP state.

U.S. Rep. Jim Matheson, D-Utah, has won five times by focusing on constituent services — and by appearing to break ranks with leaders such as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on votes including October’s $700 billion bailout.

The 20 House seats gained by Democrats last week will make it even easier for lawmakers such as Matheson and Minnick to cast votes reflecting values of their districts’ conservative voters — against party line, to be sure, but not necessarily without the blessing of party bosses, said Larry Sabato, director of the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics.

Democrats have 255 seats, to Republicans’ 174, providing ample cover for Western Democrats without endangering the success of any given bill, he said.

“When Matheson was first elected, he was called a ‘one-termer,’” Sabato said. “He proved how you can do it. You do it with permission of leadership. You vote against your own party about half the time, you look out for your district and your seat, and that’s it. They don’t need him. They’ve got an enormous majority now.”

In a nearly hour-long interview Monday with The Associated Press, the 66-year-old Minnick said he and Matheson talked weekly during the campaign.

Like Matheson, Minnick is a Harvard University graduate. And like Matheson, Minnick has vowed to reach across the aisle to his Republican counterparts.

“I don’t really care what percent of the time I’m voting for or against party-line positions,” Minnick said. “We’ll see how sensible the party is.”

He and Matheson ran similar campaigns, each reluctant to emphasize Democratic ties. And Matheson invited Minnick to join the “Blue Dog Coalition,” about 50 fiscally conservative House Democrats, according to the group’s Web site.

“When there’s an individual who can defeat an incumbent, particularly going against the partisan makeup of the district, that is an indication you’ve got a very capable individual,” Matheson told The AP. “When Walt Minnick comes to Washington, D.C., people are already going to assume he’s got a good head on his shoulders.”

Minnick doesn’t take office in the 1st Congressional District until January, but he already appears to be forging a separate path from Democratic leadership.

Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid wrote last week to Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson that he should consider expanding the $700 billion bailout to include U.S. car companies. Minnick, a businessman, isn’t so sure.

“Everybody is in favor of jobs, but I’m not in favor of bailing out failing companies, as a general proposition,” he said. “If a business has gotten itself in a situation where for whatever reason it goes bankrupt, it doesn’t mean the jobs disappear. It means you get new management and the shareholders lose their interest. It may be that they need new management.”

U.S. Rep. Mike Simpson, Idaho’s six-term 2nd Congressional District Republican, is optimistic that having a Democratic lawmaker from Idaho in Washington, D.C., will woo majority members to consider Simpson’s prized Central Idaho Economic Development and Recreation Act.

The package seeks to create a nearly 500-square-mile wilderness in central Idaho and includes economic development perks for Custer County, but has so far has failed to gain momentum.

“Having a member of the majority party trying to help with this would be beneficial,” Simpson told The AP.

Minnick, a past board member of the Idaho Conservation League and The Wilderness Society, supports Simpson’s bill, as well as a separate plan by U.S. Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, for an 807-square-mile wilderness in Owhyee County.

Sali, meanwhile, never spoke up in favor of either bill.

“I’ll be very surprised if I don’t end up voting with Congressman Simpson more often than Congressman Sali did,” Minnick said. “I’m looking forward to that. He’s a very sensible guy.”