Idaho
Filing period opens for Idaho legislative candidates – East Idaho News
BOISE (Idaho Capital Sun) — The filing period for candidates running for the Idaho Legislature and other elected offices opened Monday morning, kicking the 2024 campaign season up yet another notch in Idaho.
The filing period will remain open until 5 p.m. March 15. The forms necessary to run for office, as well as a list of candidates who have filed for office, is available on the new Vote Idaho website launched by the Idaho Secretary of State’s Office.
This year, all 105 seats in the Idaho Legislature are up for election.
In addition, Matt Loesby, a Libertarian Party candidate; Brendan Gomez, a Constitution Party candidate, and incumbent Republican Rep. Russ Fulcher, filed to run for the U.S. House of Representatives in Idaho’s 1st Congressional District.
In Idaho’s 2nd Congressional District, Republican incumbent Mike Simpson and Democrat David Roth filed to run.
The primary election is set for May 21, and the winners of the primary election will advance to the Nov. 5 general election.
Here are the legislative candidates who have filed to run in May 21 primary election, as of 5:17 p.m. Monday.
* Denotes incumbent
District 1
Senate
House Seat A: Democrat Karen Matthee, Sandpoint
House Seat B: Republican Chuck Lowman, Sandpoint; Democrat Kathryn Larson, Sagle
District 2
Senate: Democrat Tom Hearn, St. Maries
House Seat A: *Republican Heather Scott, Blanchard
House Seat B
District 3
Senate: *Republican Doug Okuniewicz, Hayden
House Seat A: *Republican Vito Barbieri, Dalton Gardens
House Seat B: *Republican Jordan Redman, Coeur d’Alene
District 4
Senate: *Ben Toews, Coeur d’Alene
House Seat A: *Republican Joe Alfieri, Coeur d’Alene;
House Seat B: *Republican Elaine Price, Coeur d’Alene; Democrat Paula Marano, Coeur d’Alene
District 5
Senate: *Republican Carl Bjerke, Coeur d’Alene
House Seat A: *Republican Ron Mendive, Coeur d’Alene
House Seat B: *Republican Tony Wisniewski, Post Falls
District 6
Senate: *Republican Dan Foreman, Viola; Democrat Julia Parker, Moscow
House Seat A
House Seat B: *Republican Brandon Mitchell, Moscow
District 7
Senate
House Seat A
House Seat B: Republican Larry Dunn, White Bird; *Republican Charlie Shepherd, Pollock
District 8
Senate: *Republican Geoff Schroeder, Mountain Home; Republican Christy Zito, Hammett
House Seat A: *Republican Matt Bundy, Mountain Home; Constitution Party Tony Ullrich, Hammett
House Seat B: Republican Faye Thompson, McCall
District 9
Senate
House Seat A: Republican John Shirts, Weiser
House Seat B
District 10
Senate
House Seat A: Democrat Nancy Parker, Caldwell
House Seat B: *Republican Bruce Skaug, Nampa
District 11
Senate: *Republican Chris Trakel, Caldwell
House Seat A: Republican Kent Marmon, Caldwell
House Seat B: Republican Sarah Chaney, Caldwell; Democrat Marisela Pesina, Caldwell
District 12
Senate: Republican Victor Rodriguez, Nampa
House Seat A: Republican Jeff Cornilles, Nampa
House Seat B
District 13
Senate
House Seat A:
House Seat B: *Republican Kenny Wroten, Nampa; Republican Amy Henry, Nampa
District 14
Senate: *Republican Scott Grow, Eagle
House Seat A: *Republican Ted Hill, Eagle; Democrat Crystal Ivie, Eagle
House Seat B: *Republican Josh Tanner, Eagle
District 15
Senate: *Democrat Rick Just, Boise; Republican Code Galloway, Boise
House Seat A: *Democrat Steve Berch, Boise; Republican Steve Keyser, Boise; Republican Annette Tipton, Boise
House Seat B *Republican Dori Healey, Boise
District 16
Senate: *Democrat Ali Rabe, Boise
House Seat A: *Democrat Soñia Galaviz, Boise
House Seat B: Democrat Wayne Richey, Boise
District 17
Senate: *Democrat Carrie Semmelroth, Boise
House Seat A: *Democrat John Gannon, Boise
House Seat B
District 18
Senate: *Democrat Janie Ward-Engelking, Boise; Republican Dan Bridges, Boise
House Seat A: *Democrat Ilana Rubel, Boise
House Seat B: *Democrat Brooke Green, Boise
District 19
Senate
House Seat A: Democrat Monica Church, Boise
House Seat B: *Democrat Chris Mathias, Boise
District 20
Senate: Republican Josh Keyser, Meridian
House Seat A
House Seat B: *Republican James Holtzclaw, Meridian
District 21
Senate
House Seat A: *Republican James Petzke, Meridian
House Seat B: *Republican Jeff Ehlers, Meridian; Constitution Party Daniel Weston, Meridian
District 22
Senate
House Seat A: Democrat Loren Petty, Boise
House Seat B: *Republican Jason Monks, Nampa
District 23
Senate: *Republican Todd Lakey, Nampa
House Seat A: *Republican Melissa Durrant, Kuna
House Seat B
District 24
Senate: Democrat Edward Easterling, Kimberly
House Seat A: *Republican Chenele Dixon, Kimberly; Republican Clint Hostetler, Twin Falls
House Seat B
District 25
Senate: *Republican Linda Wright Hartgen, Twin Falls
House Seat A
House Seat B: *Republican Gregory Lanting, Twin Falls; Republican David Leavitt, Twin Falls
District 26
Senate
House Seat A: *Democrat Ned Burns, Bellevue
House Seat B
District 27
Senate
House Seat A
House Seat B: *Republican Clay Handy, Burley; Republican Pat Field, Burley
District 28
Senate
House Seat A: *Republican Rick Cheatum, Pocatello
House Seat B: *Republican Dan Garner, Clifton
District 29
Senate: *Democrat James Ruchti, Pocatello
House Seat A: *Republican Dustin Manwaring, Pocatello
House Seat B
District 30
Senate: Democrat Karen Keith, Blackfoot
House Seat A: *Republican David Cannon, Blackfoot
House Seat B: *Republican Julianne Young, Blackfoot
District 31
Senate
House Seat A: *Republican Jerald Raymond, Menan
House Seat B: *Republican Rod Furniss, Rigby
District 32
Senate: *Republican Kevin Cook, Idaho Falls
House Seat A: *Republican Stephanie Mickelsen, Idaho Falls
House Seat B: *Republican Wendy Horman, Idaho Falls
District 33
Senate
House Seat A: *Republican Barbara Ehardt, Idaho Falls
House Seat B: *Republican Marco Erickson, Idaho Falls
District 34
Senate
House Seat A: *Republican Jon Weber, Rexburg
House Seat B: *Republican Britt Raybould, Rexburg
District 35
Senate
House Seat A
House Seat B: *Republican Josh Wheeler, Ammon
=htmlentities(get_the_title())?>%0D%0A%0D%0A=get_permalink()?>%0D%0A%0D%0A=htmlentities(‘For more stories like this one, be sure to visit https://www.eastidahonews.com/ for all of the latest news, community events and more.’)?>&subject=Check%20out%20this%20story%20from%20EastIdahoNews” class=”fa-stack jDialog”>
The Idaho State Police say that Robert Giesick, 40, from Billings is the man missing in a crash on State Highway 55 near Cascade, about 80 miles north of Boise.
A pick-up truck driven by Giesick ended up in the Payette River after a head-on crash with another pick-up truck.
Watch Idaho crash story here:
Idaho state troopers identify Billings man missing in traffic accident
“I was able to find some people that saw a male, an adult man, swimming for the shore from the truck,” said Idaho State Trooper Richard Knapp, who attempted to rescue Giesick. “Unfortunately he didn’t make it. He got swept downriver. Witnesses lost sight of him, and that was the last time anybody saw him.”
Knapp says search crews looked extensively for the 40-year-old, but after 24 hours, it became a recovery effort for the Idaho Mountain Search and Rescue Unit.
After that on Monday came the monumental task of removing the pickup truck from the raging water.
“It was an intensive a recovery, honestly, our operators were tested, their knowledge was tested,” said Mark Boisvert, Code Red Towing owner. “They said it was a very extreme recovery for them, more than usual.”
Idaho business owners have less than a month to decide how to comply with a new state law criminally banning trans people from using restrooms that align with their gender identity.
The law is set to take effect July 1, which would make it a misdemeanor for the first offense and a felony for subsequent offenses within five years.
It’s currently being challenged in federal court by the ACLU of Idaho.
On Tuesday, a panel sponsored by Idaho Employment Lawyers encouraged companies to prepare now as if the law will remain in effect as litigation continues.
Cody Earl, a lawyer for St. Luke’s Health System who spoke on the panel in his personal capacity, said there are several paths businesses can take.
Converting all bathrooms into single-use, gender-neutral facilities is one option, though it could be costly for larger businesses. Earl said companies could take other steps to make the transition more affordable.
“Even if it is a gender-specific restroom, [adding signage] that indicates where the closest gender-neutral restroom is so you could at least show that you’re giving employees an option or a choice,” he said.
Simply adding locks and only allowing one person at a time to a multi-stall bathroom is another choice, though panelists said that could be problematic for businesses with large amounts of customers, like restaurants and bars.
Idaho Employment Lawyers owner Pam Howland said companies also need to consider how this will affect their staff.
“This could definitely create some culture issues,” said Howland. “Do you have the policies you need to ensure your expectations as an employer of respect and civility are being followed? Possibly code of conduct provisions related to that? How about privacy?”
Those policies could include limiting or outright banning recording at the workplace.
Another legal wrinkle to complying with the law, the panel said, is that precedent in both the U.S. Supreme Court and 9th Circuit Court of Appeals prohibit discrimination based on someone’s gender identity.
Gender dysphoria, a mental health designation that causes severe distress to someone when their sex doesn’t align with their gender identity, has been considered a protected condition under the Americans with Disabilities Act in certain cases.
Republican state lawmakers argued earlier this year that Idaho needs to take this first-in-the-nation step to protect women and girls when they use the restroom in private businesses.
A 2025 study out of UCLA hasn’t found any increased risk to safety by allowing transgender people to use restrooms aligning with their gender identity.
A federal court in Boise will hear arguments over whether to approve or reject a preliminary injunction on June 5.
Copyright 2026 Boise State Public Radio
Remember that 250 years ago, nobody had ever heard of Idaho, and the name was mostly made up by an entrepreneur who impressed the federal government with an exaggeration about his knowledge of indigenous culture. But a large number of people who live in the state can trace ancestry to the colonial era, and I believe most Americans still have a love of country, even if some polls give an indication they may not quite know how to express it.
I Was at the Heart of the Bicentennial
Looking back 50 years, I was in Washington, D.C. at the beginning of July. Washington also didn’t exist in 1776. My memory is that its reputation as a hot, sticky swamp was well earned. I traveled there with a history club from school. On a rattling old yellow bus. The city was packed, and many of the people on the streets were foreign tourists. It told me that despite the anti-Americanism common on streets elsewhere around the world, we were still fascinating others.
We’re Still One Nation
1976 was a unifying experience and followed a very turbulent previous 15 years. Some people fear the 250th jubilee won’t bring us together. Look, those rent-a-mobs you see on TV and online are actually a small fraction of America. Picnics in the park don’t make news. Riots and tear gas get the attention of newsrooms. There are still far more picnics.
The recent Memorial Day commemorations were reverential. Independence Day 2026 is going to be a party. The media focus will be on President Trump and a festival far away. Meanwhile, across Idaho, grills will be fired up, and we’ll be proud to be Americans.
Here Are Rappers Who Are Still Supporting Donald Trump
-
News19 minutes agoCalifornia’s primary for governor is undecided as candidates vie to be in the top two
-
Los Angeles, Ca2 hours agoCalifornia primary election results: governor and L.A. mayor races
-
Detroit, MI2 hours agoAnother bribery scandal hits Detroit. It involves the People Mover
-
San Francisco, CA2 hours agoWhat’s Worth More Than Cash in San Francisco Real Estate? Anthropic Stock
-
Dallas, TX2 hours agoDallas weighs $500 million‑plus repair plans as City Hall’s future comes up for debate
-
Miami, FL2 hours agoMiami biotech executive was followed into his condo by man who allegedly threw him from 25th floor
-
Boston, MA2 hours agoWhat a World Cup ‘fan zone’ is and what Boston fans can expect in 2026
-
Denver, CO3 hours agoDefensive lineman Jordan Miller has a tough battle to make the Broncos’ final 53-man roster
