By Melissa Davlin, Idaho Reports
Tuesday didn’t mark the first time an Idaho Senate President Pro Tem lost an election, but it sure isn’t common. During the 1988 general election, Democrat Mike Burkett beat Republican Pro Tem James Risch. I couldn’t find any examples of a Pro Tem losing a primary race.
Senate President Pro Tem Chuck Winder’s loss to Josh Keyser is the biggest story from Tuesday night, but it isn’t the only major one. As results are still trickling in, here are some other big takeaways:
- Rep. Wendy Horman, a school choice advocate, survived a competitive, and costly, three-way race. Meanwhile, Rep. Julie Yamamoto, chair of the House Education Committee, lost her race. That, along with other conservative wins elsewhere in the state, has big implications for school choice legislation in the 2025 session. It also calls into question the future of Launch. Even if the Legislature continues to fund the program, which has already proven popular with Idaho high schoolers and their families, what might it look like after some of its biggest Republican proponents lost this primary?
- It’s hard to overstate just how much Magic Valley’s legislative delegation changed. I wrote more about it here.
- We’ve talked for weeks about how bonkers-expensive this primary has been, not just with direct campaign contributions, but with massive independent expenditures from outside groups. Some were successful. Many weren’t, including Retire Career Politicians’ $76,000 attempt to oust House Speaker Mike Moyle, and an Idaho Education Association-connected PAC that spent more than $40,000 in support of Ammon Mayor Sean Coletti’s attempt to unseat Horman. (Our friends at Idaho Education News have more on both, as well as other big campaign finance spends.)
- It isn’t uncommon for incumbents to lose, but in District 8, all three incumbents lost: Sen. Geoff Schroeder, Rep. Matt Bundy, and Rep. Megan Blanksma.
We’ll have so much more to talk about on this week’s Idaho Reports, which airs Friday night at 8 pm on Idaho Public Television. If you miss it, you can always catch it online at idahoptv.org/idahoreports.
Melissa Davlin | Host, Lead Producer
Melissa Davlin is the lead producer and host of Idaho Reports. She has covered the Idaho Legislature since 2012. She also produces for Outdoor Idaho and Idaho Experience. Melissa serves as the president of the Idaho Press Club. She has won multiple awards for her work, including a regional Emmy for her documentary on Chinese immigration in Idaho, Idaho Press Club broadcast reporter of the year for 2015 and 2019, the Idaho Press Club First Amendment Award, the University of Idaho Silver and Gold Alumni Award, and the 2019 Boise State University Enhancing Public Discourse award. She lives in Boise with her husband and children.