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Interested to see how much Idaho candidates have raised? Here’s how to find out. • Idaho Capital Sun

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Interested to see how much Idaho candidates have raised? Here’s how to find out. • Idaho Capital Sun


Candidates to Idaho’s Legislature have raised $6.2 million as of Sept. 23, up from what they had raised at the end of March at $3.8 million. 

All of that money funding the campaigns of Idaho’s future lawmakers can be traced back through the Idaho Secretary of State’s campaign finance portal – an important tool used for transparency. 

Campaign finance refers to how candidates get money for their campaigns, and how they spend it. The amount of money a candidate raises is not an indicator of whether a candidate will win the election, but it can show how widespread support is for a candidate, Idaho Secretary of State Phil McGrane told the Sun.  

“It’s important for people to know who is influencing people’s votes,” McGrane said. 

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In a state where agriculture and education are the priority of many candidates, transparency in campaign finance helps voters understand what interests may influence a candidate’s stance on issues such as pesticide regulations and school vouchers, for example.

Navigating campaign finance can be complex, but it is all public information – and anyone with internet access can see where the money comes from and what interests are influencing Idaho’s candidates. 

Where can I see how much a candidate has raised? 

Step 1: Go to VoteIdaho.gov.

VoteIdaho.gov is a state-funded website run by the Idaho Secretary of State. It is the official website for anything election-related in Idaho. It includes information about where and how to vote, past election results, data on voter turnout and demographics and campaign finance. 

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Step 2: Under the “Running for Office” tab at the top of the page, there is an option for “Campaign Finance Portal.” By clicking this button, the site will take you to Sunshine, Idaho’s campaign finance database. 

Step 3: On the left side of the page under “Candidate Information,” type in the name of the candidate you’re interested in. Once there, click on the candidate’s name to see a detailed dashboard of information about their campaign finances. This information is regularly updated as candidates file their monthly reports. 

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A brief overview of campaign finance laws

Campaign spending has always played a role in elections. In 1758, George Washington won a local election after spending money on alcohol to win over voters.

Today, campaign finance laws are much stricter, and there are tools voters can use to track down how candidates raise and spend their campaign funds. 

Idaho’s campaign finance laws were established through a citizen initiative in 1974, as a part of a national push for more transparency in campaign spending, McGrane said.

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Idaho Secretary of State Phil McGrane discusses his presidential caucus experiences outside of his caucus site at Whittier Elementary in Boise on March 2, 2024. (Otto Kitsinger for Idaho Capital Sun)

The push was in response to the Watergate Scandal, when in 1972 former President Richard Nixon’s re-election committee had hired burglars to wiretap phones and steal documents from the Democratic National Committee.

“It was Idaho saying, ‘We want to know who’s influencing politics,’” McGrane said. “And citizen initiatives like that were happening all around the country as there was a wave of anti-government corruption. Since then, we’ve tweaked them over time, but really with the intention that anybody who’s interested can go see who’s behind the money.” 

Who has to report their campaign finances? 

In response to the Watergate Scandal, Congress established the Federal Election Commission in 1974, the federal agency that enforces campaign finance laws. Individuals running for federal office, such as the U.S. House of Representatives or the U.S. Senate, have to file their campaign finances in this system. 

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Candidates running for state office in Idaho, including the judiciary and state legislators, have to report their finances to the Idaho Secretary of State’s Office until they decide not to file for reelection. Candidates who choose not to run for reelection but still have campaign funds cannot keep the money for personal use. To get rid of it, former candidates can donate their funds to other candidates or give it to a nonprofit for charity, McGrane said. 

Other local and county candidates are required to report their campaign finances to the Secretary of State’s office if they raise or spend $500 or more. This can include candidates for college trustee, school board, mayor, sheriff and others. 

Under Idaho law, political committees – groups formed to support or oppose a candidate or cause – must also register with the Secretary of State’s Office before receiving contributions or spending money.

Sunshine: Idaho’s database for campaign finance

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The Idaho Secretary of State’s Office uses a database called Sunshine, which is used to keep track of campaign finance data. It is a new system holding data from 2023 and beyond. 

Sunshine makes it possible for Idahoans to see where campaign funds come from and how they are spent. 

Aside from looking at how much a candidate has raised, some of the things you can discover in Sunshine include: 

  • How many out-of-state and in-state donors a candidate has
  • Who has donated to a candidate
  • The top vendors a candidate has spent their money on
  • What companies have donated money to a candidate
  • How much in loans a candidate has received for their campaign
  • Who is funding a political committee
  • How much money a political committee is giving to candidates
  • How a political committee is spending on ads 

While some information is easy to access, other details may require more digging. Familiarity with filtering and sorting data in spreadsheets can help.

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Idaho resolution opposing same-sex marriage advances

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Idaho resolution opposing same-sex marriage advances


For the second year in a row, House lawmakers will consider urging the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn its ruling legalizing same-sex marriage.

The nonbinding resolution, which carries no legal weight, says the decision in Obergefel v. Hodges violates the longstanding religious definition of marriage between one man and one woman.

“The current definition of marriage that allows for same-sex marriages is a defilement of the word marriage,” said Rep. Tony Wisniewski (R-Post Falls), who sponsors the measure.

The resolution further states that the Obergefel decision “arbitrarily and unjustly” rejects the historical definition of marriage.

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Idaho voters passed a constitution amendment in 2006 that defines marriage as between one man and one woman, which was invalidated by the Obergefel ruling.

Wisniewski said regulating marriages should be a power left to the states.

Rep. Brent Crane (R-Nampa) agrees.

“If you want to get things … closer to the people with respect to some of these more complex social issues, I think the best place for those things to happen is in the states,” Crane said.

Doing so is a risk, he said.

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“You may have states that choose to acknowledge [polyamorous relationships]. You may have states that choose to have relationships between adults and younger children,” Crane said.

Cities in neighboring Oregon and Washington, for example, are considering giving those in polyamorous relationships legal recognition.

But he said that risk is worth it to allow other states that choose to only recognize traditional marriages.

Four lawmakers on the House State Affairs Committee opposed the resolution.

Rep. Erin Bingham (R-Idaho Falls) said she’s tried to balance her own religious beliefs with those of others while considering the measure.

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“I do feel like that it is important for us to work together, to find ways to compromise and to live together in peace and mutual respect,” Bingham said.

The resolution now goes to the House floor for consideration.

House lawmakers last year passed a similar measure, but it never received a hearing in a Senate committee.

Copyright 2026 Boise State Public Radio

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University of Idaho professor awarded $10M after TikTok tarot influencer claimed she ‘ordered’ quadruple murders

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University of Idaho professor awarded M after TikTok tarot influencer claimed she ‘ordered’ quadruple murders


A University of Idaho professor won a $10 million judgment after a tarot TikTok influencer publicly pushed false claims that she was behind the savage quadruple slayings of four college students.

A Boise jury in US District Court ordered fortune-telling Texas TikToker Ashley Guillard on Friday to pay $10 million after concluding she falsely accused professor Rebecca Scofield of having a secret romance with one of the four victims and orchestrating their killings, the Idaho Statesman reported.

Following the verdict, Scofield thanked the jury and said she hopes the case sends a clear warning that making “false statements online have consequences in the real world.”

Ashley Guillard posted TikTok videos falsely linking a University of Idaho professor to the Idaho college murders, leading to a defamation lawsuit. TikTok/ashleyisinthebookoflife4

“The murders of the four students on November 13, 2022, were the darkest chapter in our university’s history,” Scofield told Fox News.

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“Today’s decision shows that respect and care should always be granted to victims during these tragedies. I am hopeful that this difficult chapter in my life is over, and I can return to a more normal life with my family and the wonderful Moscow community.”

Scofield, the university’s history department chair, filed the lawsuit in December 2022 — just weeks after Kaylee Goncalves, Madison Mogen, Xana Kernodle and Ethan Chapin were brutally stabbed to death at an off-campus rental home in Moscow, Idaho, on Nov. 13, 2022.

Guillard began uploading videos to her more than 100,000 TikTok followers in late November 2022, accusing Scofield of a secret relationship with one of the students and claiming she had “ordered” the killings, garnering millions of views across the social media platform.

The complaint states that Scofield had never met the victims and was out of state when the murders occurred.

Idaho murder victims Madison Mogen, 21, top left, Kaylee Goncalves, 21, bottom left, Ethan Chapin, 20, center, and Xana Kernodle, 20, right, and their two surviving roommates.

Even after being served with cease-and-desist letters and after police publicly confirmed Scofield had no connection to the murders, the Houston-based tarot reader continued posting videos, the history professor’s legal team argued.

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Guillard doubled down on her accusations against Scofield after being sued, posting a defiant video saying, “I am not stopping,” and challenging why Scofield needed three lawyers to sue her “if she’s so innocent.”

The professor’s legal team argued the defamatory accusations painted her as a criminal and accused her of professional misconduct that could derail her career.

Bryan Kohberger pleaded guilty to the savage slayings in July 2025 in a plea deal that took the death penalty off the table. AP

Bryan Kohberger, then studying criminology at Washington State University, pleaded guilty in July 2025 to the quadruple murders in a deal that took the death penalty off the table. He is currently serving four consecutive life sentences in Idaho.

In June 2024, Chief US Magistrate Judge Raymond Patricco found Guillard’s statements legally defamatory, leaving damages to be decided by a jury.

During the damages trial, Scofield described the anguish of seeing her name tied to the murders online, the Idaho Statesman reported.

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The off-campus home where four University of Idaho students were stabbed to death on Nov. 17, 2022, in Moscow, Idaho. James Keivom

However, Guillard, acting as her own attorney, insisted her comments were simply beliefs based on tarot card readings.

She claimed to have psychic powers and testified that she relied on tarot cards to try to solve the shocking homicides that shook the rural college town and sparked global attention.

It took jurors less than two hours to return their verdict, the outlet reported.

The jury awarded Scofield $7.5 million in punitive damages in addition to $2.5 million in compensatory damages.

With Post wires

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Gas prices expected to exceed $3 as the Iran conflict prompts supply shortages

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Gas prices expected to exceed  as the Iran conflict prompts supply shortages


BOISE, Idaho — AAA is warning Idaho gas consumers that pump prices will likely rise as the conflict in Iran disrupts oil and gas supply chains worldwide.

The ongoing turmoil in the Middle East will likely push the price for a gallon of regular gasoline past the $3 mark over the coming days.

“On one hand, the crude oil market had time to account for some financial risk in the Middle East as forces mobilized, but a supply shortage somewhere affects the global picture,” says AAA Idaho public affairs director Matthew Conde. “If tankers can’t move products through the region, there could be ripple effects.”

On Monday, March 2, the average price for a gallon of regular gasoline is $2.97, reports AAA, which is 12 cents more expensive than it was a month ago but 20 cents less than this time last year.

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State / Price: 1 gallon of regular gasoline

  • Washington / $4.37
  • Oregon / $3.92
  • Nevada / $3.70
  • Idaho / $2.97
  • Colorado / $2.89
  • Montana / $2.82
  • Utah / $2.74
  • Wyoming / $2.73

In terms of the most expensive fuel in the nation, Idaho currently ranks #14. However, buying a gallon of regular gas in neighboring states such as Oregon and Washington could cost a whole dollar more. In contrast, gas prices in Utah, Montana, and Wyoming are anywhere between 15 to 24 cents cheaper than fuel in the Gem State.





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