Ladies night at the Idaho GOP
Daily Digest 6/21/26
Leadership elections
The 2026 Idaho GOP State Convention concluded with elections for chair, first and second vice chairs, treasurer, and secretary. When the dust settled, Dorothy Moon remained in the top spot, along with four more strong and competent women:
Despite the usual rhetoric that accompanies contested elections, the results were not very close. Dorothy Moon became the first Idaho GOP state chair to win a third term since Dennis Olsen in the early 1980s, prevailing in a three-way contest against former state senator Steven Thayn and incumbent first vice chair Mark Fuller.
According to party rules, winning candidates must receive a majority of the total votes, which would have required a runoff had none of the three achieved 50 percent plus one. Moon won 306 votes, or 51.4%, barely avoiding a runoff against Thayn, who finished second with 155 votes, or 26.1%. Fuller came in third with 134 votes, or 22.5%.
By way of disclosure, Moon’s victory means I will continue in my role as communications consultant for the Idaho GOP. I’ve been accused of supporting Dorothy Moon out of self-interest, but that’s actually backwards. I’ve been proud to work with her because I believe in what she is doing for the party and for Idaho.
Incumbent second vice chair Viki Purdy, an Adams County commissioner, won the election for first vice chair in a landslide over former state senator Branden Durst, 497 votes to 91. After incumbent treasurer Steve Bender vowed not to run again if Dorothy Moon were reelected state chair, Sandra Eaton defeated Greg Graf 383 votes to 185. In an all-Kootenai County contest, Carla Mattare defeated Kellie Palm in the race for secretary, 431 to 154.
I look forward to working with the new team, both in my capacity as a communications consultant for the state party and as a legislative district chairman, in carrying out a conservative agenda for the Gem State.
Click the button below to read the entire article, including my interpretation on what this weekend’s events mean for the party going forward.
Speaking of women…
Elected officials in Idaho, especially Rep. Barbara Ehardt and Attorney General Raúl Labrador, have been working to protect women’s sports and spaces from mentally ill men. Labrador’s weekly newsletter explains how his office fought against the Biden Administration’s attempt to use Title IX to impose the transgender ideology on our state:
The reason the rule failed is worth understanding, because it goes deeper than a procedural dispute about agency authority. Title IX was enacted in 1972 specifically to protect women and girls as a biological class. Congress used the word “sex” because the problem they were solving was discrimination against people based on their biological sex. Every dictionary definition of “sex” from that era referred to male or female. Schools accepted federal funding under those terms. The Biden administration’s rule tried to sever the word from the biological reality it was written to address, substituting gender identity—a concept that didn’t exist in the statute and that directly conflicts with the sex-separated spaces Title IX expressly permits. Courts found that redefinition incompatible with what Congress actually wrote and what schools were ever on notice they had agreed to.
Simpson on the move
Congressman Mike Simpson’s weekly newsletter details his visits to Idaho:
I always enjoy meeting with Idahoans and hearing firsthand what they want to see come out of DC. Driving across the district and holding meetings like these allows me to make critical decisions about community project funding and gives Idahoans a voice in determining where budgeted funds go. Over the last several weeks, I’ve been thrilled to share some of the projects I’ve advanced funding for this year. The trend continues! Learn more about the Milner Dam Rehabilitation Project below.
I visited with our great Idaho Secretary of State, Phil McGrane, while in Boise. We had a productive conversation, and I applaud all his hard work here in Idaho! I also enjoyed sitting down with Neal and Julie on the Neal Larson Show and then again with Matt Todd, host of the Ranch Podcast, to discuss some of the work I’m doing in Congress and the news driving the day.
Well, the convention is done. Life will slow down a little bit, but I still have a lot of work to do. I aim to write articles about my platform proposal, resolutions passed by the convention, and several other stories that I’ve been working on behind the scenes. I have a lot of updating to do on the idgop.org website, including all the new faces in leadership positions. Finally, Eagle Fun Days is coming up, and the District 14 GOP will once again take part in the Wet & Wild Parade.
As always, thank you to sponsors Lynn Bradescu’s Boise Realty, Money Metals, and New Saint Andrews College. Thank you also to all the paid subscribers who make it possible for me to do what I do. It was a pleasure to meet so many readers at the convention this year!