Idaho held its 2026 primary election on August 11-12, with results coming in as the national political landscape showed signs of a Democratic surge heading into the fall midterms. The Idaho contest took place amid a broader primary season that saw consequential races decided across several states. National Backdrop A CNN poll released around the […]
By Idaho Politics Staff · August 13, 2026
A campaign opposing a proposed abortion ballot measure in Idaho released its first television advertisement on August 6, targeting voters with claims that the measure goes further than its supporters have acknowledged. The ad, titled “Not What It Seems,” runs two minutes and was produced by Stop Prop 1, a campaign organized by the Too […]
By Idaho Politics Staff · August 8, 2026
Steve Johnson, a retired educator and longtime Bonner County farmer, formally entered the race for the District 1 Idaho Senate seat last week, launching his independent campaign at an event in Sandpoint on August 4. Johnson will face Republican nominee Scott Herndon in the November 3 general election. Running without party affiliation, Johnson is positioning […]
By Idaho Politics Staff · August 5, 2026
Independent candidate Todd Achilles has secured an endorsement from the Forward Party in his bid to unseat three-term Republican U.S. Senator Jim Risch of Idaho, setting up what could be one of the more unusual Senate matchups in the state’s recent history. The race effectively narrowed to a two-man contest after Democrat David Roth withdrew […]
By Idaho Politics Staff · August 3, 2026
Idaho’s election system is facing federal legal scrutiny over voter data access while state officials highlight security measures they say make the state a model for election integrity — a dual reality playing out as the national debate over election law continues to intensify. Federal Lawsuit Over Voter Data The U.S. Department of Justice has […]
By Idaho Politics Staff · July 29, 2026
David Roth, an Idaho Falls consultant who won the Democratic primary in May, announced Tuesday he is abandoning his bid for the U.S. Senate seat held by Republican incumbent Jim Risch. The withdrawal ends a campaign that had faced sustained pressure from within Roth’s own party. A Campaign Squeezed From Both Sides Roth had been […]
By Idaho Politics Staff · July 29, 2026
The Republican field for Idaho’s 2026 special election congressional primary grew to ten candidates after Sanford formally entered the race, adding another contender to an already crowded contest for what is shaping up to be one of the most competitive intraparty battles the state has seen in recent memory. A Crowded Republican Field Sanford’s entry […]
By Idaho Politics Staff · July 28, 2026
An abortion-related ballot initiative will go before Idaho voters this November after supporters gathered a record-breaking number of signatures, setting up one of the state’s most consequential electoral fights in years. The Reproductive Freedom and Privacy Act would establish a right to abortion before fetal viability and allow post-viability procedures to protect the health of […]
By Idaho Politics Staff · July 24, 2026
Ada County voters will have a say this November on whether to extend a long-standing vehicle registration fee that pumps roughly $14 million annually into road and bridge maintenance across the county, after the Ada County Highway District Board of Commissioners voted unanimously to place the measure on the general election ballot. A Fee With […]
By Idaho Politics Staff · July 22, 2026
Two of Idaho’s gubernatorial challengers have publicly declared their support for a November ballot measure that would roll back the state’s near-total abortion ban, while the Constitution Party candidate has vowed to fight the initiative if it passes. Republican incumbent Gov. Brad Little did not respond to requests for comment on the measure. Where the […]
By Idaho Politics Staff · July 22, 2026
A federal lawsuit filed by two of Idaho’s longest-serving death row inmates is challenging the state’s newly enacted firing squad execution law on constitutional grounds, while an advocacy group has taken its opposition directly to the public with a billboard campaign in Boise. The Lawsuit Thomas Creech and Gerald Ross Pizzuto Jr. filed suit against […]
By Idaho Politics Staff · July 21, 2026
Idaho’s attorney general office fired back at the U.S. Department of Justice this month, demanding federal officials cease direct contact with Secretary of State Phil McGrane and drop a civil lawsuit filed against him earlier this year over access to voter registration records. James E. M. Craig, a division chief in the Idaho Attorney General’s […]
By Idaho Politics Staff · July 17, 2026