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December Lobbyist Update
Fall 2024 Elections
The votes have been cast and counted. Below is a quick snapshot of what happened last on election night and what it means for Idaho.
Senate
No Idaho Senate races this cycle. Mike Crapo (R) and Jim Risch (R) are the sitting Senators.
House of Representatives
Idaho has two Representatives. Russ Fulcher (R) and Mike Simpson (R) held their seats.
What does it mean for Idaho?
Idaho will have significant seniority and power in the Senate. Senator Crapo will most likely be the chair of the Senate Finance Committee and Senator Risch will be the chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. On the House side, Representative Simpson will be what they refer to as a “Cardinal” and chair the House Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee.
State Results
The GOP had a good night in Idaho as well. They picked up one Senate seat and two House seats. There were only four competitive Legislative districts out of the 35 legislative districts in Idaho. Each district consists of one Senator and two Representatives (each member represents the full territory of the legislative district. In other words, the district territory is not further subdivided). Below are the results of those races.
District 6 (Moscow Area)
All three Republican legislative incumbents (Senator Dan Foreman, Representative Lori McCann and Representative Brandon Mitchell) maintained their seats.
District 15 (West Boise)
Republican challenger Codi Galloway defeated Democratic incumbent Rick Just for the Senate Seat. Republican incumbent Dori Healey defeated Democratic challenger Shari Baber for House Seat B, and Democratic incumbent Steve Berch defeated Republican challenger Annette Tipton
for House Seat A.
District 26 (Sun Valley Area)
Democratic incumbent Ron Taylor kept his Senate Seat after defeating Republican challenger Lori Lickley. Republican challenger Mike Pohanka defeated Democratic incumbent Ned Burns for House Seat A, and Republican incumbent Jack Nelson defeated Democratic challenger Chris Hansen for House Seat B.
District 29 (Pocatello Area)
Democratic Senator James Ruchti won the Senate Seat. He had no challenger. Republican incumbent Dustin Manwaring defeated Democratic challenger Mary Shea for House Seat A, and Republican challenger Tanya Burgoyne defeated Democratic incumbent Nate Roberts for House Seat B.
What does it mean for Idaho?
For Idaho, the balance of power shifts even more to the right. After this election, The Senate will consist of 29 Republicans and 6 Democrats. The House will consist of 61 Republicans and 9 Democrats.
Leadership, Chairs, & Committee Assignments
Every two years following the fall elections, the Idaho Legislature holds an Organizational Session where they elect new leaders, appoint new Committee Chairs, and make Committee Assignments. There were significant changes at both the Leadership and Committee Levels. IOP will have to spend time forging new relationships with freshly elected legislators. In general, IOP is in a good position and has built strong relationships with returning leadership and members of the House and Senate Health and Welfare Committees (where most of the issues involving the profession of Optometry are decided).
House Leadership
Both Speaker Mike Moyle – Star and the Majority Leader Jason Monks-Meridian maintained their leadership positions. The Assistant Majority Leader was filled by Josh Tanner-Eagle, and the Majority Caucus Chair was filled by Jaron Crane-Nampa. Minority Leader Illana Rubel-Boise kept her position. Steve Berch-Boise was elevated to Assistant Minority Leader and Todd Achilles-Boise was chosen as the Minority Caucus Chair.
Senate Leadership
With the defeat of Senate Pro Tempore Chuck Winder-Meridian during the May Primary, there were considerable changes to Senate Leadership. Kelley Anthon-Rupert was elected to be the new Pro-Tempore, Lori Den Hartog-Meridian was elected as the new Majority Leader, Mark Harris-Soda Springs was elected to be the new Assistant Majority Leader, and Ben Toews-Coeur d’Alene was elected as the new Majority Caucus Chair. All leadership positions on the Minority Side remained the same. Melissa Wintrow-Boise is the Minority Leader, James Ruchti-Pocatello is the Assistant Minority Leader, and Janie Ward- Engelking is the Minority Caucus Chair.
House Health & Welfare Committee
Both John Vander Woude-Nampa and Marco Erickson remained as Chair and Vice Chair, respectively. Only four other members of the Committee returned; the rest are all new. Due to the loss of two seats in the House, the Democrats have one less member on the Committee. Here is the Committee Roster.
Chair John Vander Woude, R-Nampa and Ilana Rubel, D-Boise
Vice Chair Marco Erickson, R-Idaho Falls and Megan Egbert, D-Boise
Dori Healey, R-Boise
Jordan Redman, R-Coeur d’ Alend
Josh Wheeler, R-Ammon
Robert Beiswenger, R-Horseshoe Bend
Tanya Burgoyne R-Pocatello
Lucas Cayler, R-Caldwell
Ben Fuhriman, R-Shelley
David Leavitt, R-Twin Falls
Lori McCann, R-Lewiston
Cornel Rasor, R-Sagle
Faye Thompson, R-McCall
Senate Health and Welfare Committee
Both Julie Van Orden-Pingree and Carl Bjerke-Coeur d’Alene remained as Chair and Vice Chair, respectively. Due to the loss of one seat in the Senate, there is only one Democrat on the Committee. Here is the Committee Roster.
Chair Julie Van Orden, R-Pingree Melissa Wintrow, D-Boise
Vice Chair Carl Bjerke, R-Coeur d’ Alene
Mark Harris, R-Soda Springs
Glennada Zuiderveld, R-Twin Falls
Brian Lenney, R-Nampa
Brandon Shippey, R-New Plymouth
Camille Blaylock, R-Caldwell
Josh Keyser, R-Meridian
If you have any questions or need more information, please don’t hesitate to contact me.
Respectfully,
Lance Giles
lance.giles@thegilesgroup.net
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