Updates to Idaho Insider

Everything you want to know about your lawmakers in a single place

Prior to the 2024 Republican legislative primaries, I launched a service called Primary Pulse, with profiles for each candidate. Once the elections were done, I had all these pages, and decided to build on them by creating a new page called Idaho Insider. The Executive and Judicial Branch pages are still works in progress, but the Legislative Branch page is a great resource for anyone interested in Idaho politics.

My goal with Idaho Insider is to provide as much information as possible, with as little bias as possible. When you visit a legislative profile, you'll find a photograph and short bio for each lawmaker—pulled directly from the official legislative website. (For Sen. Brian Lenney, who didn’t submit a bio, I used his Twitter profile at the time. It’s amusing.)

Let’s take Rep. Jason Monks, House Majority Leader from District 22, as an example:

At the top of his profile page, you’ll find navigation links that let you browse through each district’s representatives and senator in order. You can explore to your heart’s content.

On the right side of the page, you’ll see a collection of useful information, including:

• Electoral history (How long has this lawmaker been in office?)

• Party affiliation and committee assignments

• Legislative scorecards

• Links to external resources, such as Ballotpedia, the Sunshine database, their campaign website, and social media

• Email addresses—both official and, when available, any personal contact they’ve chosen to publish

• Newsletters, blogs, or Substack pages, if applicable

(Lawmakers—if I’m missing anything, feel free to reach out!)

You’ll also see a note indicating whether the lawmaker has signed the Citizens Alliance of Idaho pledge, along with a link to their CAI profile. As you may recall, I was a contributing editor to CAI’s Idaho Signal program during the session, and I continue to support their mission.

Continuing with Rep. Monks page:

With the help of ChatGPT, the scorecards section pulls data from a central spreadsheet that I can update quickly when new ratings are published. I can also add new scorecards that will automatically appear on all 105 legislator profiles.

Current scorecards include:

• Idaho Freedom Foundation’s Freedom Index

• Idaho Association of Commerce & Industry (IACI)

• John Birch Society’s Freedom Index

• American Conservative Union’s CPAC ratings

• Club for Growth’s ratings

This list currently leans to the right, simply because that’s what I’m most familiar with—but I’m happy to include additional scorecards from the center or left. The goal is to give voters as much data as possible.

I’m also putting together a separate page explaining who each scoring group is and how they calculate their ratings. I expect to have that finished this weekend.

As you scroll further down a legislator’s page, you’ll see a list of related Gem State Chronicle posts—any article in which that lawmaker is mentioned. This feature is powered by a really neat plugin that performs text searches and displays the results dynamically.

Finally, at the bottom of each profile is a map of the district the lawmaker represents. I reference these myself often to stay oriented. The maps are sourced directly from the Legislature’s official publications.

My guiding principle for these profiles is simple: what would I want to see as an engaged citizen? If there’s something you think I should add, let me know. The Gem State Chronicle exists to give Idahoans the tools to participate more actively in our political process, and Idaho Insider is a big part of that mission.

I hope you find it helpful in your own efforts to promote political change here in Idaho. Use it to learn more about your legislators, follow their work during and after the session, and of course—reach out and share your thoughts with them. I’ll continue updating and expanding this resource, so be sure to bookmark the page and check back often.

If you find resources like this one valuable, then consider upgrading your subscription or advertising your business here at the Gem State Chronicle. Thank you to all who make this work possible!