North Idaho voters are likely to return most of their current state legislators to Boise next year, with two exceptions.
[See state election results here.]
One is in District 1, which serves Bonner and Boundary counties, where one of the most expensive legislative campaigns was waged. Republican Jim Woodward appears to have defeated the man who bumped him from the state Senate in 2022, Republican Scott Herndon. Woodward, who is considered to be more moderate, collected 52% of the vote. He will have no Democratic opponent in November.
One unusual twist is that Woodward and Herndon also competed for the Republican precinct committee chairmanship in the Bonner County town of Westmond. Herndon won 337-215.
The Woodward-Herndon Senate race was perhaps the most visible in a battle over who controls the Idaho Republican Party. Several members considered to be more traditional Republicans lost their seats.
Most members of the Idaho Freedom Caucus survived the primary. Herndon is one of two members of the 11-person caucus who lost their primary races. The second is Rep. Jacyn [Jason] Gallagher from Weiser. A third member, Rep. Mike Kingsley from Lewiston, did not run for re-election.
Prominent Freedom Caucus members who won their primary races include Rep. Elaine Price from Coeur d’Alene. Though Herndon lost his race, two other Freedom Caucus senators, Tammy Nichols and Brian Lenney, won. So did former Rep. Christy Zito, who lost her House race in 2022, but who may now be headed for the Senate.
North Idaho races
The other north Idaho legislator who will not return, Republican Sage Dixon from Ponderay, also did not run, even though he had ascended to the role of Assistant Majority Leader in the state House. Former Bonner County Commissioner Cornel Rasor will likely replace him. Rasor beat Chuck Lowman in a close race for the Republican nomination for the District 1 seat. Rasor received more than seven times the number of votes than the top Democrat, Kathryn Larson, against whom he will run in November.
It’s a similar situation for most of north Idaho’s state legislators, all Republican, who were either unopposed or easily won their primaries with far more votes than the Democrats against whom they will run in November. In Lewiston, Republican Representative Lori McCann had a more difficult election, but eked out a win in her three-way race with about 44% support.
Activists versus moderates
McCann was one of the traditional Republicans who survived primary challenges. Rep. Mark Sauter from Sandpoint is another. Several others have apparently been turned out of office.
The biggest name on that list is Senate Majority Leader Chuck Winder from Boise, who lost to Republican Josh Keyser. Others who lost yesterday include Rep. Julie Yamamoto, chairwoman of the House Education Committee, and Reps. Linda Wright Hartgen, Greg Lanting, Matt Bundy and Megan Blanksma. Blanksma entered the 2023 session as House Majority Leader, but was voted out by her peers in February.
All three Republican legislators from District 8, including Blanksma, lost yesterday. The others are Sen. Geoff Schroeder and Rep. Matt Bundy, both from Mountain Home.
Even House Speaker Mike Moyle had a primary challenge, but survived it with 54% of the vote.
A few legislators not considered to be part of the traditional Republican wing, Sen. Chris Trakel and Rep. Julianne Young, are on the path to losing their seats, although Young is only 10 votes behind with absentee ballots still to be counted.
