by Logan Finney, Idaho Reports
State senators have gathered enough support to convene a special legislative session, Republican leadership from the chamber announced this week.
For lawmakers to convene a special session under a constitutional amendment approved by voters last fall, 60% of each chamber must sign a petition outlining the topic.
Senate Majority Caucus leadership in a Wednesday news release called upon their counterparts in the House to join the petition and reinstate Idaho’s presidential primary for 2024.
“We strongly uphold our democratic responsibility to provide every Idahoan with the opportunity to have their voices heard and their votes make an impact,” said Senate President Pro Tempore Chuck Winder, R-Boise. “I am hopeful that our colleagues in the House will support the special session on this critical issue.”
The legislation that Winder proposes would complete a move that lawmakers began during the regular session, to consolidate the presidential primary with the state and local primary election held in the third week of May.
During this regular legislative session earlier this year, House Bill 138 eliminated the March presidential primary without incorporating it into the May election. A follow-up bill to correct the error passed the Senate but died in a House committee.
The Idaho Republican Party this summer adopted rules to hold a presidential caucus on March 2, ahead of most other states, although they included a provision that would revert to using the state-run primary only if lawmakers reinstated it on the March date.
State party leaders like chairwoman Dorothy Moon and secretary Maria Nate have expressed their opposition to a later May presidential primary, which they argue is too late in the national nominating process for Idahoans’ voices to have an impact.
The Republican National Committee has set an Oct. 1 deadline for state parties to finalize their presidential plans. The Idaho Republican Party will have 32 delegates at the 2024 GOP national convention.
“While the early stages of the nomination process certainly hold significance, it’s important to recognize that a competitive race can extend beyond March,” Senate Assistant Majority Leader Abby Lee said in the release. “A May primary empowers Idaho Republicans to play a pivotal role in shaping the outcome of the nomination by strategically positioning their votes behind candidates who remain in contention.”
A competing petition announced last week by Sen. Scott Herndon, R-Sagle, would convene a session “considering legislation that pertains to Idaho’s Presidential primary election.” Herndon has prepared legislation that would reverse HB 138 and reinstate the standalone presidential primary in March.
In a press release regarding the petitions sent Aug. 29, Herndon was critical of Winder’s petition, which specifies a single piece of drafted legislation rather than a general topic for lawmakers’ consideration.
“Senator Winder, in the words of his petition, has given us the option to have a session only about one specific bill that is designated by number in his petition. But a bill is not a subject,” Herndon said. “If the subject of a session is unconstitutionally limited to one single drafted bill, then why have a special session at all? In that case, the people of Idaho could have amended the constitution to allow the legislature to ratify a bill draft by signing a petition.”
If 60% of House members also sign onto the petition started by Winder, legislative leaders will have 15 days to convene lawmakers at the capitol in Boise. It would be the first special session called by Idaho lawmakers rather than the governor.
House Speaker Mike Moyle, R-Star, told Idaho Reports that he is unsure whether enough of the House will coalesce behind the petition put forward by Winder and the Senate.
“You’ve got these different factions that are split up amongst the House members,” Moyle said. “There’s twice as many of us, so it’s a little harder to get to sixty percent.”
Even if lawmakers do reconvene and reestablish the presidential primary, Moyle pointed out, it probably would not change the Idaho Republican Party’s plan to caucus in the spring.
“The party can still caucus. They can do whatever they want, and they’ve said that they’re going to caucus,” Moyle said.
Logan Finney | Associate Producer
Logan Finney is a North Idaho native with a passion for media production and boring government meetings. He grew up skiing, hunting and hiking in the mountains of Bonner County and has maintained a lifelong interest in the state’s geography, history and politics. Logan joined the Idaho Reports team in 2020 as a legislative session intern and stayed to cover the COVID-19 pandemic. He was hired as an associate producer in 2021 and they haven’t been able to get rid of him since.
