by Logan Finney, Idaho Reports

Multiple Idaho state lawmakers say they received emails this week purporting to be from constituents in their districts, but that actually came from American Action Fund, a political action committee affiliated with the Texas-based libertarian group Young Americans for Liberty.

The emails, signed with the names and addresses of real constituents, encourage the recipients to “repeal the grocery tax” and say AAF will keep them informed of their actions.

The issue? The people with names on many of those emails claim to never have sent them.

Some lawmakers referenced the emails in a lengthy debate on Friday before the House overwhelmingly passed HB 231, a bill to increase the income tax food credit to $155 per person.

“In fact, one of those emails is from myself,” said Rep. Rod Furniss, R-Rigby. “I wouldn’t put a lot of credit in all those emails that you got. I would think that we would look at those emails from our district – but make sure they’re really legit.”

Rep. Wendy Horman, R-Idaho Falls, told Idaho Reports she had received them as well.

“My inbox just suddenly started filling up one night this week,” Horman said.

“It’s weird. I got a bunch of them,” Rep. Chris Bruce, R-Kuna, told Idaho Reports. One came from a woman he knew through church. “My wife saw her on Wednesday and she said she had never signed up,” Bruce said.

Sen. Brian Lenney, R-Nampa, posted about the emails on social media Thursday.

“Complete fabrications,” Lenney wrote. “YAL and their gang of frauds have been playing dress-up, pretending to be citizens to bend the system to their will.”

Sen. Camille Blaylock, R-Caldwell, responded with a screenshot of a text message between herself and a constituent.

“I got an email from a good friend and confirmed it’s not from her,” Blaylock wrote.

Lawmakers also discussed the messages in an email chain, shared with Idaho Reports.

“I support grocery tax repeal and school choice,” Blaylock wrote to her colleagues, “but these emails give me pause on supporting either effort this year – why is an organization so motivated to get something passed that they would lie like this? It’s concerning.”

“I also received an email purporting to be from my neighbor,” wrote Sen. Todd Lakey, R-Nampa. “I spoke with her and she confirmed that they sent no such email. Those behind this have sunk to a new low.”

“Same here,” wrote Senate Assistant Majority Leader Mark Harris, R-Soda Springs. “I recognized several names but the addresses were wrong. Those that I asked told me they sent no such email.”

None of the Democratic lawmakers whom Idaho Reports contacted said they received the fake constituent emails. Rep. John Gannon, D-Boise, checked his inbox while Idaho Reports was talking to him.

Brian Almon of Gem State Chronicle shared an email with Idaho Reports and on social media from American Action Fund Idaho field manager Sulamita Rotante, sent just after the House voted on Friday afternoon.

“We have State Senators right now in Boise claiming that your emails to them are FAKE!” Rotante wrote. “They are claiming that emails they have received about Grocery Tax Repeal are nothing more than an apparent criminal conspiracy orchestrated by our organization to generate fake emails to legislators. Your desire for tax cuts is nothing more than ‘SPAM’ to them.”

The lengthy fundraising message details several controversial issues this session that YAL has weighed in on – budget cuts and pay raises, as well as legislative leadership choices.

“Fast forward to now, we just dropped thousands of mailers targeting 30 legislators statewide encouraging people to contact their legislators and demand Grocery Tax Repeal. We have sent texts, calls and online ads to mobilize people,” Rotante wrote. “[Senate President Pro Tem Kelly] Anthon and [House Speaker Mike] Moyle could have put tax eliminators as chairs of the most powerful tax committees, but they did not.”

Last year, Almon reported that 16 Idaho lawmakers had withdrawn from Young Americans for Liberty’s state legislature network, citing concerns about the way the group conducted itself during the primary election. An open letter posted on then-Sen. Chris Trakel’s Facebook said the group caused “chaos and confusion” that hurt conservative candidates.

Another PAC affiliated with Young Americans for Liberty, Make Liberty Win, was one of Idaho’s largest spenders on negative campaign ads during the 2024 election cycle.

Idaho Reports reached out Friday to YAL and AAF for comment.

Melissa Davlin contributed to this report.

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