Idaho Secretary of State Phil McGrane, a Republican seeking a second term, says no changes to the state’s voting rules are expected before the November election — even as the Trump administration intensifies pressure on states to restrict mail-in voting and tighten noncitizen voting enforcement. Federal Push to Reshape State Election Laws The U.S. Department […]

A campaign to restore abortion access in Idaho has gathered more than 110,000 petition signatures — well above the roughly 71,000 needed to qualify — and organizers say roughly 28 percent of those signatures came from registered Republicans in a state President Trump carried by nearly 37 percentage points last year. The Reproductive Freedom and […]

The Trump administration this week warned Idaho Secretary of State Phil McGrane that election officials could face criminal charges if noncitizens cast ballots in the 2026 federal midterm elections — part of a nationwide campaign by the Justice Department to pressure states on voter roll compliance. The Warning Letter A seven-page letter from the Justice […]

Idaho’s Democratic nominees for governor and state superintendent of public instruction are taking their campaigns to eastern Idaho this weekend, scheduling back-to-back public events in Pocatello and Idaho Falls. Terri Pickens, the Democratic candidate for governor, and Dr. Becky Sundin Mitchell, running for state superintendent of public instruction, will appear together at both stops. The […]

A campaign finance concern is drawing renewed attention in Idaho and beyond: so-called “pop-up” political action committees that form late in an election cycle, spend heavily, and dissolve quickly — leaving voters with little information about who actually funded the effort until the ballots are long counted. The structure exploits a gap between disclosure timelines […]

John Stegner, a retired Idaho Supreme Court justice with 25 years on the bench, formally launched an independent campaign for Idaho governor on Tuesday, positioning himself as an alternative to a field that already includes incumbent Republican Gov. Brad Little and several other challengers. A Judicial Career Turned Campaign Stegner’s path to the courtroom began […]

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that children born on American soil to parents who are unlawfully or temporarily present in the country are citizens at birth, delivering a setback to Idaho’s attorney general and two dozen other Republican attorneys general who had urged the justices to restrict birthright citizenship. Background: A Day-One Executive Order […]

Maine’s Democratic Party is fracturing around its newly nominated U.S. Senate candidate after a woman accused Graham Platner of sexual assault, triggering a wave of withdrawn endorsements and calls from national party leaders for him to exit the race before a looming legal deadline. The Allegation and Platner’s Response Platner, 41, won the Democratic nomination […]

Graham Platner, who won the Maine Democratic primary for U.S. Senate just last month, is now facing a sexual assault accusation from a woman he previously dated — a development that has thrown his candidacy into uncertainty and prompted state party officials to weigh their options before a fast-approaching deadline. The Accusation The accuser, a […]

Supporters of a proposed abortion-rights ballot measure turned in nearly 110,000 signatures Thursday at Idaho’s Capitol, advancing their effort to place the initiative before voters in November. The submission came after months of grassroots signature gathering, with supporters arguing they have cleared the threshold needed to qualify for the general election ballot. The initiative would […]

A medical marijuana legalization initiative is fighting to reach the November ballot in Idaho after a signature delivery arrived too late at a county clerk’s office, triggering a legal dispute that a judge ultimately resolved against the initiative’s organizers. What Happened in Minidoka County The trouble began on May 1, when a contractor working for […]

Political action committees spent more than $4.2 million on Idaho’s May 2026 primary elections, with the bulk of that money flowing into legislative contests that pitted mainstream Republicans against hardline conservative challengers. The spending underscores how the intra-party battle for the direction of the Idaho GOP has become increasingly well-funded. Republican Primaries Drive PAC Activity […]