Idaho Democratic Party News and Articles

The Trump administration is eyeing more than 3,000 acres of Idaho public land near Shoshone for another massive data center. The proposed Falcon Data Center would span Jerome and Lincoln counties, in the heart of Legislative District 26, just weeks after news broke of another massive data center proposed on thousands of acres of public land south of Boise. More than 6,000 acres of Idaho public land are now [...]

Idaho families face serious challenges. War, tariffs, and cuts to health coverage are making life more expensive for everyone. That makes your voting decisions all the more critical this year. Unfortunately, misleading ads are pouring into Idaho from out-of-state groups backed by billionaires. They are attacking Democrats who oppose school voucher schemes, but their attacks have little to do with school vouchers or the truth. One ad I saw [...]

Having the courage of your convictions should be a prerequisite for elected office. Yet courage seems increasingly rare in the Idaho Statehouse and U.S. Capitol. It doesn’t have to be that way. I’ve seen tremendous courage from Idaho Democrats stepping up to run for office. Teachers, small business owners, and community leaders know they’ll face uphill battles, long hours, and time away from family. They do it because they [...]

The mental health of our children is on everyone’s mind, including school leaders. That’s why 10 rural districts and charter schools jumped at the chance to apply for mental health support through Idaho’s Rural Health Transformation Program. The plans included counseling, telehealth, and behavioral health coordinators to help students and families connect with care. Their work was wasted when a Republican-only interim committee voted to shut down the opportunity [...]

What political parties choose to fight for says a lot about their values and what they demand from elected leaders. At a recent Idaho Democratic Party meeting in Coeur d’Alene, grassroots members passed three resolutions addressing concerns we have heard from Idahoans: rising grocery costs, protecting citizen-led ballot initiatives, and safeguarding our water and future. Idaho is one of only four states that charges its full sales tax rate [...]

On Saturday, Idaho Democratic leaders from across the state gathered in Coeur d’Alene for the Fall State Central Committee Meeting, where members focused on the work ahead in the home stretch of the 2026 election and the issues Idahoans are demanding action on. The committee voted to support ending Idaho’s sales tax on groceries as families continue to get hit by higher costs. Since Trump returned to office, the [...]

Politics can be full of disagreement. But on some things, Idahoans are pretty clear. We value our public lands. We want them protected and kept open for the people who live here, not handed over for private development. Across the country, voters are increasingly concerned about rapidly expanding data centers and their demands on land, water and electricity. So what are Republican officials doing? Pushing in the opposite direction. [...]

Any worthy candidate takes the time to understand the challenges facing Idaho families, businesses and communities and the solutions needed. They should have a plan and tell voters what they will do about it. But that is not what we are seeing from some Republican campaigns in Idaho. I recently came across an ad from a longtime Republican officeholder running for reelection. After decades in public office, he should [...]

Idaho deserves leaders who study the bills instead of simply deferring to the lobbyists pushing them. The debate over data centers shows why that matters. The 2020 legislative session was my first as a state representative, and I was lobbied hard to support a valuable sales tax exemption for data centers. The pitch was slick. One lobbyist told me data centers would jumpstart our tech industry and create new [...]