1. This could — and maybe should — change the way Democrats and Republicans approach statewide races. Democrats spent $3 million (much of it from Balukoff himself) in the governor race alone. He still didn’t break 40 percent of the vote statewide. It’s a different race, but let’s look at the other extreme. Ybarra raised about $35,000, but focused…

You’ll see plenty of analysis and up-to-the-minute results about the statewide races tonight, but don’t forget about the legislature. As we’re gearing up for our upcoming season, Idaho Reports has traveled the state over the last month and a half,and we’ve compiled a list of interesting races. That doesn’t mean other challengers don’t have a…

Sometimes, the things you hear in debates need a bit more context. During both the City Club of Idaho Falls debate and the KTVB debate between Rep. Mike Simpson and former Rep. Richard Stallings, Stallings mentioned a personal tie to undocumented workers. “I’ve got a young man working for me from Burley whose folks came…

It takes a lot for a political ad to catch the eye of this cynical journalist, but this one featuring AJ Balukoff playing goalie in a Steelheads jersey is a bit unusual. (Impressive skills, by the way!) So is this an endorsement from the Idaho Steelheads? Not quite; Balukoff is part owner of the Steelheads. “(Endorsements) never came up…

House Speaker Scott Bedke has one less thing to worry about this fall. House Assistant Majority Leader Brent Crane, R-Nampa, told Idaho Reports on Wednesday he doesn’t intend to challenge Bedke for his post. Earlier this year, Crane told Dan Popkey he was considering a run at Speaker Bedke, citing dissatisfaction with how Bedke operates.…

Sherri Ybarra said she had the backing of the legislature’s Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee. That statement surprised JFAC co-chair and Ybarra supporter Maxine Bell. During Tuesday night’s superintendent debate on Idaho Public Television, Ybarra said JFAC is “behind me every step of the way.” When Democratic opponent Jana Jones questioned that claim, Ybarra reiterated the endorsement. “I’m…

The race for Superintendent of Public Instruction has Idaho politicos talking, and anxiety is rising for Republicans worried they’ll lose the seat to Democrats.   Nearly every Republican I’ve spoken to has said Sherri Ybarra is in real danger of losing, or has already lost. In an Aug. 4 interview with Idaho Reports, newly elected…

My favorite part of the 2014 World Cup: The arm folding intros. I’ve kind of missed it. Thanks, AJ Balukoff, for the flashback.

In June, Idaho Reports producer Seth Ogilvie and I headed to Moscow to cover the now-infamous Idaho Republican state convention. Like the delegates, we didn’t know what would happen when we got there, but we knew the weekend had the potential to be chaotic. We were right; the convention dissolved into a three-day political brawl,…

On Friday’s show, we had an interview with Gov. Butch Otter. I had a few people ask me why we didn’t ask the governor about his remarks on Judge Winmill, minimum wage or Add the Words.  There are a few reasons. First, we taped the discussion with him on Wednesday before Dan Popkey’s blog post…

During our discussion on alternative proposed budgets last Friday, one of the questions we asked the pundits was whether anyone has proposed alternative budgets before. On Monday morning, I found an alternative budget from the Idaho Freedom Foundation in my inbox. Like the one by Mike Ferguson, it differs from the governor’s in approach, priorities…