Outside spending surfaces in Idaho elections — but some remains hidden

The first reports of independent expenditures for Idaho’s 2026 election cycle trickled into the state’s campaign finance portal last week — but the filings probably don’t tell the whole story of outside spending.

There are several complications in tracking spending from political action committees, particularly if they are registered out of state. Here’s what we know so far.

Two groups reported independent expenditures last week. The PAC For Public Lands last Monday reported $784 to support Sen. Jim Woodward, R-Sagle, and $1,708 to support Sen. Jim Guthrie, R-McCammon.

On Friday the Kootenai County Republican Central Committee reported $6,000 in independent expenditures to support 25 candidates for the Idaho Legislature, statewide offices and a few local races. Here are some of the candidates the committee supports:

• For governor: Mark Fitzpatrick
• Senate candidates: former Sen. Scott Herndon and incumbents Phil Hart, Doug Okuniewicz, Ben Toews, and Carl Bjerke
• House candidates: challenger Jane Sauter and incumbents Cornel Rasor, Heather Scott, Dale Hawkins, Vito Barbieri, Jordan Redman, Joe Alfieri, Elaine Price, Ron Mendive and Tony Wisniewski

Both of these in-state groups filed their reports the day after making the expenditures, but some groups wait until the last minute to file their reports.

Complications

A spokesman for the Idaho secretary of state’s office told EdNews there are complications in tracking PAC spending.

Some independent expenditures come from national PACs that are registered with the Federal Election Commission. Those groups do not have to file monthly reports in Idaho, but still have to report their independent expenditures as laid out in Idaho law (below).

For in-state PACs, some of their independent expenditures might appear in their monthly filings but not show up in “independent expenditure” searches in Idaho Sunshine.

The “final complication” is that some PACs record independent expenditures as regular expenditures, so they are “harder to spot,” according to the secretary of state’s office.

What does the law say?

Idaho statutes require anyone who makes an independent expenditure of more than $100 to file a statement with the secretary of state “not less than seven days prior” to the election and 30 days after the election.

If those independent expenditures are in an aggregate amount of $1,000 or more and made “after the 16th day before, but more than 48 hours before” an election, they must be reported within 48 hours of the time of the expenditure.

A case study

Looking through 2024 independent expenditure reports from Make Liberty Win, a Virginia-based national PAC associated with the libertarian Young Americans for Liberty, reveals that the group expertly filed their reports during the 2024 election cycle to get in right under the deadline.

Make Liberty Win in 2024 spent $705,000 in Idaho in 864 separate independent expenditures, according to Idaho Sunshine data. Republican leadership, including Speaker of the House Mike Moyle and Senate President Pro Tem Chuck Winder, sat at the top of the group’s hit list.

Between March 29 and April 30, the group spent $400,604 in Idaho but did not report those independent expenditures until May 14, seven days before the election — just as the law requires.

And then in the period “after the 16th day before, but more than 48 hours before” the primary election — which in 2024 was between May 5 and 19 — the PAC filed its reports within two days of making expenditures. For example, the PAC on May 15 spent $62,695 and reported it two days later on May 17.

As Make Liberty Win is a national PAC, it has to report fundraising and expenses to the FEC. But the FEC reports don’t shed much light on which candidates the PAC supports in Idaho. All of its spending in Idaho passes through various companies in other states, such as CampaignHQ in Iowa, Propellant Media in Georgia or WAB Holdings LLC in Ohio.

If 2024 is any guide, Make Liberty Win could be making independent expenditures now, but we won’t know how much the out-of-state PAC is spending until a week before voters hit the ballot box.