Across Idaho, voters are paying attention. The May primary showed that many Idahoans are questioning the direction of our politics. In communities across the state, voters rejected some of the loudest and most extreme Republican voices on the ballot.

But too many extreme candidates still made it through. And too many so-called traditional Republicans have gone along with the same agenda. They cut investments that help people afford a decent life. They treat our tax dollars and public lands like prizes for the highest bidder. And they try to divide us and distract us from a broken economy that only rewards the ultra-rich.

That is not what most Idahoans want. It’s why November matters so much.

Look at Legislative District 6, which includes Latah and Lewis counties and part of Nez Perce County. It has sent both Democrats and Republicans to Boise in recent years. It is a district of farmers, students, teachers, small business owners, and working families that expect leaders to solve problems.

Dan Foreman defeated Lori McCann in the Senate primary. Foreman is infamous for bullying constituents, telling a Native American woman to go back to where she came from, and abortion extremism that would charge patients and doctors with murder.

Brandon Mitchell has his own troubling record. He backed restrictions on student voting and was the deciding vote to shut down a grant for locally designed preschool. Newcomer Colton Bennett pushed his party to take a position against IVF and fertility care. His community is concerned about his connections to Christ Church, which has radical views, including that women should not be allowed to vote.

District 6 voters cannot afford this level of far-right extremism, while challenges like costs, education, health care costs, and economic opportunity are ignored. All three Republicans oppose LAUNCH, the workforce training program that helps Idaho students prepare for in-demand jobs, and want to repeal Medicaid expansion.

That is where Robin Weldy, Trish Carter-Goodheart, and Kathy Dawes offer a clear alternative. These Democratic candidates are rooted in the district, focused on strong schools, creating opportunity close to home, and a future young people can afford in the communities that raised them.

Republicans in power are betting voters will keep supporting their party label, no matter more your grocery bill, your mortgage, your school, your hospital, and your family’s future.

Now is the time to show Republican politicians that they can’t keep taking voters for granted. We can do that by supporting the Democratic candidates stepping forward across the state.

Idaho does not belong to politicians, billionaire donors, or party bosses. It belongs to the people who work here, raise families here, serve here, and love this place enough to fight for it.

Onward,

Lauren Necochea
Idaho Democratic Party Chair