The Board is Set for the 2026 Primary
160 Republicans have filed to serve in the 69th Idaho Legislature.
The filing period for federal, statewide, and legislative candidates closed at 5:00pm Mountain Time on Friday evening. When the dust settled, 382 candidates had filed for election. Of those, 272 are running for the Legislature, with 160 competing in the upcoming Idaho GOP primary on May 19.
As you know, outside of four districts in Idaho, the May primary is the real election. Turnout is imperative to ensure we have a strong Republican slate for the November general election. Republican legislators in Idaho run the gamut from strong conservatives like Rep. Heather Scott and Sen. Glenneda Zuiderveld to those who are much more moderate, like Sen. Jim Guthrie and Rep. Lori McCann. That means it is up to Republican voters to decide what kind of lawmakers we send to the Capitol next year.
Running for office is both a privilege and a duty for citizens of our Republic. I would never say that someone does not have the right to put their name on the ballot, nor that any incumbent deserves to go unchallenged. Primary challenges help keep elected officials from straying too far from the people they serve. However, sometimes the strategic choice is not to run. Trying to oust an effective conservative simply because one believes it is “their turn,” or crowding a race against a moderate incumbent with multiple conservatives, is not good strategy.
Sean Dolan at Idaho Ed News posted a helpful rundown of the filings last night.
Looking briefly at the statewide races, it became increasingly clear over the past few months that no serious candidates were prepared to challenge any of the seven constitutional officers. With filing closed, six of the seven—Lt. Gov. Scott Bedke, Attorney General Raúl Labrador, Secretary of State Phil McGrane, Controller Brandon Woolf, Treasurer Julie Ellsworth, and Superintendent Debbie Critchfield—are unopposed in the primary and heavily favored to win reelection this November. Gov. Brad Little has seven primary challengers, but I expect him to cruise to victory as well.
Here are a few things that jumped out to me:
Colton Bennett likely would have defeated Rep. Lori McCann last time but for a second conservative in the race who split the vote. His momentum and fundraising may have helped chase McCann from the field, as she opted to challenge Sen. Dan Foreman rather than defend her own seat. Bennett is joined by James Spencer and former legislator Cindy Agidius.
I long suspected that former House Majority Leader Megan Blanksma would jump back into the arena, and she did not disappoint, filing for Senate in District 8 just hours before the deadline. She joins another former lawmaker, Terry Gestrin, in challenging Sen. Christy Zito.
One of the biggest surprises is what did not happen on Friday. Despite two years of constant agitation regarding Speaker Mike Moyle, no one ultimately stepped up to challenge him. He is now all but assured of winning what would be, so far as I know, an unprecedented 15th term in the Legislature. Moyle’s seatmates, Sen. Tammy Nichols and Rep. Bruce Skaug, are also unchallenged in the primary.
Another dog that did not bark was in District 13. Sen. Brian Lenney had twice defeated former Sen. Jeff Agenbroad, who filed a treasurer’s report a few months ago, seemingly setting up another matchup. However, he apparently decided against another campaign, leaving Lenney free and clear for the general election.
One of the more crowded races in the GOP primary is in District 25. Rep. Don Hall was appointed to fill the seat vacated by Lance Clow’s retirement, but health problems have unfortunately prevented him from running for election. His legislative substitute, Grayson Stone, is the presumed favorite, but Andrew Messer and Josh Callen have entered the race as well.
Several new appointees face serious challenges. Rep. Mike Veile, appointed last year to replace Kevin Andrus, faces former state representative Chad Christensen. Rep. Erin Bingham, appointed in January to replace Wendy Horman, faces Brian McKellar.
In his article, Sean Dolan noted that seven incumbents face no challengers in either the primary or the general election, meaning they are guaranteed another term:
District 3B Rep. Jordan Redman, R-Coeur d’Alene
District 18 Sen. Janie Ward-Engelking, D-Boise
District 18A Rep. Ilana Rubel, D-Boise
District 27A Rep. Douglas Pickett, R-Oakley
District 27B Rep. Clay Handy, R-Burley
District 30A Rep. David Cannon, R-Blackfoot
District 34A Rep. Jon O. Weber, R-Rexburg
Click here to review candidate filings for yourself. I will have more in-depth analysis in the coming days, but for now, this provides a top-level look at the GOP legislative primary. While no additional candidates can file at this point, candidates can still withdraw. Watch for at least one three-way race to narrow to two by this time next week.
Incumbents are in bold:
District 1
Senate
Jim Woodward
Scott Herndon
House Seat A
Mark Sauter
Jane Sauter
House Seat B
Cornel Rasor
Chuck Lowman
District 2
Senate
Phil Hart
House Seat A
Heather Scott
House Seat B
Dale Hawkins
Todd Perry
District 3
Senate
Doug Okuniewicz
House Seat A
Vito Barbieri
Eric Seeley
House Seat B
Jordan Redman
District 4
Senate
Ben Toews
House Seat A
Joe Alfieri
House Seat B
Elaine Price
Christa Hazel
District 5
Senate
Carl Bjerke
House Seat A
Ron Mendive
House Seat B
Tony Wisniewski
District 6
Senate
Daniel Foreman
Lori McCann
House Seat A
Colton Bennett
Cindy Agidius
James Spencer
House Seat B
Brandon Mitchell
District 7
Senate
Cindy Carlson
House Seat A
Kyle Harris
Michael Collins
House Seat B
Charlie Shepherd
Maureen Anderson
District 8
Senate
Christy Zito
Terry Gestrin
Megan Blanksma
House Seat A
Rob Beiswenger
Sean Hall
House Seat B
Faye Thompson
Brian Beckley
District 9
Senate
Brandon Shippy
Michael Irwin
House Seat A
John Shirts
Heidi Smith-Takatori
House Seat B
Judy Boyle
Gregory Diacogiannis
District 10
Senate
Tammy Nichols
House Seat A
Mike Moyle
House Seat B
Bruce Skaug
District 11
Senate
Camille Blaylock
Chris Trakel
House Seat A
Kent Marmon
Carlos Hernandez
House Seat B
Lucas Cayler
Debbie Geyer
District 12
Senate
Ben Adams
Shaun Simmons
House Seat A
Jeff Cornilles
House Seat B
Jaron Crane
District 13
Senate
Brian Lenney
House Seat A
Brent Crane
House Seat B
Steven Tanner
Kody Daffer
District 14
Senate
C. Scott Grow
Mac Raslan
House Seat A
Ted Hill
Matt Stallsmith
House Seat B
Josh Tanner
District 15
Senate
Codi Galloway
Desi Burbank
House Seat A
Steve Keyser
House Seat B
Dori Healey
District 20
Senate
Josh Keyser
Russell Spencer
Richard Marsh
House Seat A
Joe Palmer
House Seat B
James Holtzclaw
District 21
Senate
Treg Bernt
House Seat A
James Petzke
Gina Johnson
House Seat B
Jeff Ehlers
District 22
Senate
Lori Den Hartog
Josh Haver
House Seat A
Greg Ferch
Kelly Walton
House Seat B
Jason Monks
District 23
Senate
Todd Lakey
House Seat A
Chris Bruce
Melissa Durrant
House Seat B
Shawn Dygert
District 24
Senate
Glenneda Zuiderveld
Brent Reinke
House Seat A
Clint Hostetler
Alex Caval
House Seat B
Steve Miller
Chance Requa
William Mostoller
District 25
Senate
Joshua Kohl
Casey Swensen
House Seat A
Andrew Messer
Grayson Stone
Josh Callen
House Seat B
David Leavitt
Cherie Vollmer
District 26
Senate
Bryan Hyde
House Seat A
Mike Pohanka
Jeff Emerick
House Seat B
Lyle Johnstone
District 27
Senate
Kelly Anthon
House Seat A
Doug Pickett
House Seat B
Clay Handy
District 28
Senate
Jim Guthrie
David Worley
House Seat A
Richard Cheatum
James Lamborn
Mike Savile
House Seat B
Dan Garner
District 29
Senate
John Crowder
House Seat A
Dustin Manwaring
House Seat B
Tanya Burgoyne
Jennifer Miles
District 30
Senate
Julie VanOrden
Ethan Neff
House Seat A
David Cannon
House Seat B
Ben Fuhriman
Julianne Young
District 31
Senate
Van Burtenshaw
House Seat A
Jerald Raymond
House Seat B
Rod Furniss
Karey Hanks
District 32
Senate
Kevin Cook
House Seat A
Stephanie Mickelsen
Kelly Golden
House Seat B
Erin Bingham
Brian McKellar
District 33
Senate
Dave Lent
House Seat A
Barbara Ehardt
Connor Cook
House Seat B
Marco Erickson
Jilene Burger
Jeff Thompson
District 34
Senate
Doug Ricks
House Seat A
Jon Weber
House Seat B
Britt Raybould
Larry Golden
District 35
Senate
Mark Harris
House Seat A
Mike Veile
Chad Christensen
House Seat B
Josh Wheeler
Feature image found on Facebook.
One correction: Jack Nelsen is not running for re-election for 26B.