Convention Day 1: Welcome to Twin Falls

The 2022 Idaho GOP Convention is underway

I arrived in Twin Falls shortly before noon after an uneventful drive. The Magic Valley is perhaps even more lovely than the Treasure Valley, and the views overlooking the Snake River are spectacular. The Bonneville County Republicans hosted a get-together at the Canyon Crest Country Club yesterday evening that featured a perfect scene.

The four most exciting traditional American events are county fairs, high school football games, rodeos, and political conventions. The fun of the convention is in meeting other likeminded people from across the entire state. I met many people yesterday who I only knew from online intereactions over the past two years.

After registration, I sat in on the Credentials Committee meeting. This committee is tasked with approving the 750 delegates who were duly elected by their county and legislative district committees. Sometimes there are challenges to be dealt with - when I attended the 2020 Idaho GOP Convention in Nampa, there was a snafu with my registration and I had to testify to the Credentials Committee to get it sorted out.

This year, delegates from Canyon County challenged both the county slate as well as the delegates from District 12, claiming that their selections were invalid due to issues with meeting notifications or quorums. The Canyon County Republican Central Committee has just been through a major change this year, as more right-wing leaders managed to wrest control of the group from the those they would call the establishment. My sense from observing the proceedings was that some of the previous leadership felt scorned enough to try and torpedo their own delegation.

The Credentials Committee was in no mood to unseat any delegates, voting overwhelmingly to accept the slates as they were. There were also challenges to the delegations from Lemhi, Bonneville, and Twin Falls Counties, none of which succeeded either. I was pleased to see the majority of the committee choose to accept these delegations in good faith rather than looking for reasons to disqualify them.

The lawsuit filed by Chairman Tom Luna against the Bonneville County Republican Central Committee hung like a pall over the congregation. Bonneville delegates wore t-shirts expressing their opinions of Mr. Luna’s lawsuit, and it was a continual subject of conversation. I hope that the issue will be resolved one way or the other. Dorothy Moon has pledged to end the lawsuit if elected Chair, but even if she falls short, the Idaho GOP Judicial Committee will take up the issue at the conclusion of the Convention on Saturday.

After the day’s sessions I stopped in on the Welcome Reception hosted by Chairman Luna, the Bonneville GOP’s open house hosted by BCRCC Chairman Nick Contos, and karaoke and drinks hosted by Dustin Hurst of the Idaho Freedom Foundation. All I will say is that I am pleased to see that conservative Republicans know how to have fun.

This morning I will be taking part in the Resolutions Committee meeting, deciding what measures to bring to the general session. After lunch we will have the first general session of the Convention. It should be a great time, and I can’t wait to tell you all about it.