OPINION: Idaho’s GOP right wing is knocking at the door

If the acolytes of Idaho GOP Chairperson Dorothy Moon and the Idaho Freedom Foundation didn’t win control of the Idaho Legislature in Tuesday’s primary, then they are clearly knocking on the door.

As noted by the Idaho Statesman’s Ian Max Stevenson, the Idaho Freedom PAC’s Dustin Hurst was doing a bit of a victory dance. Hurst posed on X, formerly Twitter, that he long believed his wing of the Republican Party would soon overtake the Gem State’s political establishment, which “is dead but doesn’t know it yet.”

“After last night, I still believe both to be true,” Hurst said.

There were exceptions.

In the Panhandle, former Sen. Jim Woodward, R-Sagle, reclaimed the seat he lost to Sen. Scott Herndon, R-Sagle, two years ago.

After months of enduring harassment from her antagonists at the GOP central committee level, Rep. Lori McCann, R-Lewiston, survived.

And a string of GOP incumbents in Bonneville County, notably budget committee co-Chairperson Wendy Horman, and Rep. Stephanie Mickelsen, both R-Idaho Falls, prevailed while hard-right Rep. Julianne Young, R-Blackfoot, was deposed, narrowly.

But Woodward benefited from an electorate still energized by the effort to recall the West Bonner School District school board and oust its unqualified choice for superintendent, Branden Durst.

McCann ran in a three-way race and even then, her plurality was close.

Mainstream Republicans held their ground in eastern Idaho but made few gains. Meanwhile the Magic Valley — once the model of no-nonsense, business-oriented Republican politics — as well as much of the Treasure Valley bent toward the right.

So for every centrist Republican who ousted a hard-core conservative — such as Woodward or Camille Blaylock, of Caldwell, who took out Sen. Chris Trakel, R-Caldwell — there were two more on the other side:

Josh Keyser, a private Christian school administrator from Meridian, defeated Senate President Pro Tem Chuck Winder, R-Boise — the first time a Senate leader has been turned down for another term since 1988.

IFF acolyte and former Sen. Christy Zito, R-Hammett, swamped conservative Sen. Geoff Schroeder, R-Mountain Home.

Sen. Linda Wright Hartgen, R-Twin Falls — a three-term lawmaker who received the worst IFF rating of any GOP member of the Legislature — suffered a staggering loss to Magic Valley Liberty Alliance board member Josh Kohl, of Twin Falls.

The Senate seat vacated by moderate Abby Lee, R-Fruitland — who was just two notches ahead of Hartgen and one ahead of Schroeder on the IFF index — was claimed by Brandon Shippy, of New Plymouth, who said the “practice of infanticide via abortion must be abolished entirely.”

Over in the House, the ratios were identical.

Young is out. So are Jacyn Gallagher, R-Weiser — who ranked among the IFF’s top 10 and wanted to block every public entity except for hospitals from imposing face mask mandates — and Rep. Tina Lambert, R-Caldwell — who has a slightly better IFF ranking than Sen. Dan Foreman, R-Viola.

But elsewhere:

House Education Committee Chairperson Julie Yamamoto, R-Caldwell, lost to Idaho Family Policy Center-endorsed Kent A. Marmon, of Caldwell.

Rep. Matt Bundy, R-Mountain Home, lost to Rob Beiswenger, of Horseshoe Bend, who says he will “protect Idaho’s children from the Woke Mob and Left-wing indoctrination.”

Former House Majority Leader Megan Blanksma, R-Hammett, was ousted by Citizens Alliance of Idaho-endorsed Faye Thompson, of McCall.

Rep. Kenny Wroten, R-Nampa, lost to Idaho Freedom PAC-endorsed Steve Tanner, of Nampa.

Rep. Melissa Durrant, R-Kuna, was defeated by Chris Bruce, of Kuna, who lists his anti-abortion rights stance as a “non-negotiable.”

Rep. Chenele Dixon, R-Kimberly, lost to Clint Hostetler, of Twin Falls, a self-described “California refugee,” who railed against “Marxist ideologies, groomer agendas, ... and any other ‘curriculum’ that seeks to ‘socialize’ our children ...”

Rep. Greg Lanting, R-Twin Falls, got beaten by David J. Leavitt, of Twin Falls, a combat veteran who wants to eliminate all absentee voting and conduct elections where ballots are “counted by hand in public view.”

The House seat vacated by Rep. Sage Dixon, R-Ponderay, who barely avoided failing scores on the IFF index, was replaced by Citizen Alliance of Idaho-endorsed Cornel Rasor, of Sandpoint.

The House seat vacated by moderate Rep. Chris Allgood, R-Caldwell, was filled by Lucas Cayler, of Caldwell, who says he stands “on godly principles and fight to keep the flame of freedom burning.”

If you’re keeping score, the hard-core right-wing — which this year counted 11 allies among the 28 Senate Republicans — now has at least 13.

And in the House, they may have as many as 25 of the 59 Republicans.

Much depends on whether more Democrats prevail in November, moderate Republican lawmakers coalesce with Democrats and how the Senate reorganizes in Winder’s absence.

Still, you can expect to see scarce public education dollars siphoned into subsidies for private school tuition, more battles on budget bills and more scrutiny of Medicaid spending and collective bargaining rights for Idaho’s public school teachers. There will be less of an appetite for moderating Idaho’s abortion ban.

And the culture wars will continue unabated.

That’s far from the agenda of ordinary Idahoans. But they didn’t show up to vote in Tuesday’s primary. — M.T.