All Eyes on Idaho Falls

A vast political machine is working hard to get its candidate into office.

Last month, three candidates stood for election to be the next mayor of Idaho Falls, one of the Gem State’s largest cities and the hub of eastern Idaho. Each brought a distinct perspective to the race. From my perspective on the outside, Council Member Lisa Burtenshaw appeared to represent established business and political interests, Jeff Alldridge aligned with a new-right conservative worldview, and Christian Ashcraft ran as an independent voice.

When the votes were counted, Alldridge led with 47.17%, Burtenshaw followed with 46.65%, and Ashcraft took 6.18%, which was just enough to force a runoff between the top two.

In the weeks since Election Day, a tremendous amount of money and rhetoric has poured into Idaho Falls. Mailers have gone out in support of Lisa Burtenshaw claiming endorsements not only from Gov. Brad Little and Lt. Gov. Scott Bedke, but local Democrats as well. Will that strategy—separately courting Democrats and Republicans in a mayoral campaign—pay off?

Full contribution data won’t be available until after tomorrow’s runoff, but for now we know Burtenshaw brought in eleven $1,000 donations in November, while Alldridge received five. Overall, Burtenshaw has reported nearly $40,000 in donations for the mayoral race, with Alldridge bringing in around $30,000. Most contributions to both campaigns come from individuals.

Back in August, when campaigns were just ramping up, Burtenshaw reported a $1,000 in-kind donation from Sunnybrook Strategies, a campaign firm that has worked for many moderate Republicans aligned with the Main Street Caucus. Sunnybrook’s clients include Reps. Jack Nelson, Joshua Wheeler, Rod Furniss, Ben Fuhriman, Lori McCann, and Stephanie Mickelsen, as well as former candidates and elected officials such as Greg Lanting, Jeff Agenbroad, and Alex Caval.

In addition to its work with moderate Republicans, Sunnybrook Strategies was paid $35,000 by Veterans for Idaho Voters, the PAC chaired by former Democratic state representative Todd Achilles and one of the major forces behind the ranked-choice voting initiative in 2024. Achilles is now running an independent campaign for U.S. Senate against Sen. Jim Risch.

The in-kind donation to Burtenshaw appears to be the only one of its kind. What is so special about her campaign that Sunnybrook would offer pro bono support?

Sunnybrook was founded by Lara Herway, who might well be one of the most influential political figures in Idaho that you’ve never heard of. Along with running the firm, Herway is employed as a lobbyist for Risch Pisca PLLC, a Boise-based law and policy firm with deep political connections.

Herway was also recently named executive director of Idaho Groundwater Appropriators Inc. (IGWA), an association of ten groundwater districts in eastern Idaho. Rep. Stephanie Mickelsen chairs IGWA, which advocates for farmers and ranchers who depend on access to the Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer.

None of this is to necessarily suggest wrongdoing, of course. It’s simply a reminder of how interconnected Idaho’s political world can be. I recently wrote about the governor’s political machine; well, this is what it looks like in practice: networks of powerful people working together and helping one another. The stronger the machine, the harder the grassroots must work to overcome it.

In addition to Burtenshaw’s roughly $40,000 in direct contributions, she has received a lot of support from outside political action committees (PACs). Three such PACs—Defend & Protect Idaho, the Idaho Liberty PAC, and Conservation Voters for Idaho—have spent around $64,000 promoting Burtenshaw and attacking Jeff Alldridge.

At first glance, these groups make for strange bedfellows. Idaho Liberty PAC is associated with Gov. Little via money that funnels his through the Friends of Brad Little PAC and the Idaho Victory Fund. On the other hand, Conservation Voters for Idaho is a firmly left-leaning organization that has backed figures such as Boise Mayor Lauren McLean.

Do you find it a positive development that PACs aligned with both the governor and the mayor of Boise agree on a preferred candidate to lead Idaho Falls?

Longtime readers will recall that Defend & Protect Idaho was founded by former Ada County Sheriff Gary Raney to oppose Janice McGeachin and Ammon Bundy in the 2022 election. Raney was an outspoken opponent of constitutional carry and used his status as a retired law enforcement officer to paint McGeachin as anti-police.

Though it still bills itself as focused on law and order, Defend & Protect Idaho has effectively become a clearinghouse for national groups interested in Idaho politics. Over the past few years, it has taken in hundreds of thousands of dollars from organizations such as Virginia-based Article IV, Colorado-based Unite America PAC, the National Association of Firefighters, and the National Association of Realtors.

Idaho-based Way Back PAC (EDIT: Defend and Protect’s campaign finance report says “Sheridan, ID”. Sheridan, WY is often used to keep PAC info anonymous) donated $50,000 to Defend & Protect Idaho last year. According to its website, Way Back PAC works to support candidates across the Mountain West who:

• Work on issues facing their communities instead of national party priorities;

• Defend our democracy and aspire for a more functional republic;

• Are willing to get their hands dirty and get things done.

The Sunshine website shows Way Back PAC has supported moderate Republican challengers such as Lori Bishop, Jeff Agenbroad, and Alex Caval, as well as leftists like Jimmy Hallyburton and Colin Nash for Boise City Council, Democratic legislators including Soñia Galaviz and Todd Achilles, and—of course—Idahoans for Open Primaries.

Unite America PAC, based in Denver, appears singularly devoted to open primaries, which runs squarely against the Idaho GOP’s position. The latest article on its homepage is a glowing profile of former state representative Chenele Dixon, a moderate Republican who lost her primary to Rep. Clint Hostetler last year. It’s no surprise she supports open primaries—allowing registered Democrats to participate in GOP nomination contests might well have kept her in office.

And so it goes. As Idaho Falls voters head to the polls on Tuesday, they should consider how much money is flowing into this single municipal race. What about the mayor’s office is important enough to attract tens of thousands of dollars from outside groups? And what about Jeff Alldridge is threatening enough to spur Idaho’s most powerful political network into action to stop him?

Tuesday’s results will show which is stronger—the grassroots or the machine. Will unlimited money carry the day, or will regular citizens seeking change prevail?