3 Republicans Vie in Heated Idaho Gubernatorial Primary

A 'Vote Here' sign is displayed near a polling station on March 1, 2022, in Laredo, Texas. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

BOISE, Idaho—In a hotly contested May 17 primary election for Idaho’s governor, three Republican front-runners hope to prove who is most conservative in an overwhelmingly red state.

Incumbent Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin is looking to unseat her political rival and incumbent Gov. Brad Little. Ed Humphreys is the potential spoiler, running a highly active grassroots campaign as a “constitutional conservative.”

“Most of us know in our hearts something is very wrong right now. Evil is called good, and good is called evil. Down is up, boys are girls, indoctrination is education, fiction is fact,” Humphreys states on his campaign website.

“Weak leaders who put politics before principles allow for the destruction of everything we love. Idaho is the last foxhole of the American Dream.”

Humphreys, the youngest of the three candidates and a self-described “finance guy,” says he’s running to eliminate Idaho’s income tax, promote school choice, and “return government to the people” while opposing “socialist policies” of wealth redistribution and central planning.

Then-Vice President Mike Pence (L) listens as Idaho Gov. Brad Little speaks at the White House in Washington, on July 16, 2020. (Jim Watson/AFP/Getty Images)

Little leads the Republican pack with a $2 million campaign war chest and seeks a second term energized by two key endorsements: the Idaho Fraternity of Police and the National Rifle Associaton.

McGeachin, a five-term former member of the Idaho House of Representatives from 2002 to 2012, made state history when she became Idaho’s first elected female lieutenant governor in 2018.

Trump’s Clout Key to Endorsement

Now McGeachin looks to oust her opponent Little as a “RINO” (Republican in name only) governor in the May 17 primary. She has the endorsement of President Donald Trump and former U.N. Ambassador Alan Keyes, and the Republican Liberty Caucus in Idaho.

Trump’s support of McGeachin may prove crucial in a state where roughly a third of the 993,000 registered voters don’t affiliate with any political party. Nearly 300,000 voters reside in the state’s capital seat of Ada County.

In the 2020 presidential election, Trump handily defeated Joe Biden with nearly 64 percent of the Idaho vote. The former president’s endorsement of McGeachin could potentially resonate among unaffiliated conservatives.

“Janice is a committed supporter of the right to life, steadfastly defending the unborn,” Keyes said in his endorsement of McGeachin. “She is a warrior for freedom, and she is the true fighter Idahoans need right now in their battle to restore individual liberty to the people.”

Idaho Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin speaks during a mask burning event at the Idaho Statehouse in Boise, Idaho, on March 6, 2021. (Nathan Howard/Getty Images)

McGeachin, a business owner, has raised more than $700,000 toward her campaign. Humphreys trails in third place with $403,520.

The other Republican gubernatorial contenders in the May 17 primary are Steve Bradshaw, Ben Cannady, Ashley Jackson, and Cody Usabel. Stephen Heidt and Sandpoint Mayor Shelby Rognstad are battling for the Democratic nomination.

The winner of the primary will advance to the Nov. 8 general election.

No Love Lost

Idaho’s constitution doesn’t require the governor and lieutenant governor to run as a ticket. According to media reports, there is no love lost between Little and McGeachin, a staunch critic of the governor’s handling of the COVID-19 crisis.

At one point during Little’s absence, McGeachin used her state constitutional authority as lieutenant governor to issue two executive orders, one that banned mask and vaccine mandates, another that prohibited mandatory COVID testing.

McGeachin recently called on Little to convene a special session to “strengthen Idaho’s laws on protecting life.”

“I have been met with silence from the Governor and anger from the hostile media who are again trying to paint my pro-life stance as ‘extremist’ and part of some fringe of the Republican Party,” McGeachin posted on her campaign website.

“It’s disappointing to see yet another instance of our supposedly Ruby Red Idaho failing to lead on core conservative issues. Mr. Little wants you to believe he’s rock solid on the issue of life, when in fact, he’s siding with the radical leftists and Satanists (who unapologetically characterize killing babies as a ’religious abortion ritual') and who are rallying—even here in Idaho—to support murdering innocent children.”

‘Right-Wing’ Ties

McGeachin came under fire recently when she gave a speech at the America First Political Action Conference hosted by conservative nationalist Nick Fuentes and her alleged association with “right-wing militia groups.”

Concerning her criticism of Little’s COVID policies, the governor said on his website that he “never had a mask mandate or vaccine mandate” and that he banned vaccine passports.

“Instead, we responded by adding capacity in healthcare. Idaho’s economy thrives today because we are a top 10 state for the fewest COVID restrictions,” according to bradlittleforidaho.com.

As a “lifelong conservative” and rancher in Idaho, Little said he is running on his record of accomplishments as an anti-tax Republican and solid supporter of veterans and law enforcement.

He became lieutenant governor in January 2009 to fill the vacancy created by Jim Risch’s move to the U.S. Senate.

In December 2021, Little traveled to Arizona’s southern border to oppose President Joe Biden’s open-border policies.

Other contested primary races include the U.S. Senate, with Trump-endorsed incumbent Sen. Mike Crapo seeking another term against Republican challengers Brenda Bourn, Natalie Fleming, Scott Trotter, and Ramont Turnbull.