BOISE — Though this year’s elections brought huge change to the Idaho Legislature – a whopping 51 of the 105 faces will be new when lawmakers convene in January – one significant factor didn’t change at all.
Despite redistricting, retirements, lawmakers running for higher offices, election upsets and more, when the dust settled Wednesday after Tuesday’s election, it turned out that the party balance in both the Idaho House and Senate remained just as it was. The Senate will still have 28 Republicans and seven Democrats. The House will still have 58 Republicans and 12 Democrats.
“We just switched the people around,” said Sen. Lori Den Hartog, R-Meridian, who won reelection to a fifth term and is considering a possible run for leadership.
The big difference is a higher number of ultra-conservatives among the Senate Republican caucus, at the same time that the House GOP caucus has lost a raft of its most vocal leaders on the right, including Reps. Ron Nate, Priscilla Giddings, Dorothy Moon and more. The larger House has long had the reputation of being the more free-wheeling, raucous body, compared with the more sober, decorous Senate.
“The House may have to be the moderating body, God help us,” said House Minority Leader Ilana Rubel, D-Boise.
Senate President Pro Tem Chuck Winder, R-Boise, who is seeking re-election to the Senate’s top leadership post, said of his Senate GOP caucus, “It’s going to be more conservative. It’s moving to the right some.”
That raises questions about whether the nature of each house, along with the relationship between them, could change.
“There’s no reason to throw bombs,” said Sen.-elect Treg Bernt, R-Meridian. “Those who stand for nothing and are against everything create problems, and that’s not how we do our business, especially in the Senate. And for me personally, I will always approach my business with civility and integrity.”
Bernt is replacing one of the Senate’s most conservative Republicans, Sen. Regina Bayer, R-Meridian; she retired, but endorsed his GOP primary rival, unsuccessful candidate Thad Butterworth.
Among the outspoken conservatives headed to the Senate in January are Brian Lenney of Nampa; former state Rep. Phil Hart of Athol; Scott Herndon of Sagle and bombastic former Sen. Dan Foreman of Moscow.
Sen.-elect Rick Just, D-Boise, who also long has written a column on Idaho history, said, “I do know that there have been times where legislators have been so angry about something that they were throwing chairs and lamps out of the window. I hope we don’t get to that point with this legislature at all, but it has happened in the past.”
Winder doesn’t see anything like that on the horizon. “I think overall, it’s going to be a good group of people that’ll come together and work together and do the people’s business,” he said.
The big changes within the GOP caucuses may spell an end to the dynamic that’s developed between the House and Senate in recent years in which the House passes far-reaching legislation with obvious flaws, such as constitutional problems, and the Senate serves as a backstop, killing the bills and leading to formulation of more moderate proposals.
“They have kind of been a check at times on the House,” said Boise State University political scientist Jaclyn Kettler, raising the question as to “whether we see more farther-right legislation being heard and considered by the Senate.”
Den Hartog said, “I’m really hopeful that we’re still going to see some of the same things that we expect from the Senate, which is a little more deliberation, a little more thoughtfulness. … I think there will be some more similarities with the House, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing. We serve in the same branch of government, so we’ve got to figure out how to work together.’
Lauren Necochea, House assistant minority leader and the Idaho Democratic Party chair, said in a Wednesday statement, “I am proud of the historic effort put forth by Idaho Democrats. In a year when political pundits across the country predicted a red wave — and with significant migration from activists who see Idaho as fertile ground for their far-right political movement — we held the line, maintaining our margins in both the House and Senate. This was critical.”
But the extent of the turnover in both houses – which Kettler called “sizeable turnover, sizeable change” – could change the character of the Idaho Legislature, along with another wild card: Passage of a constitutional amendment allowing lawmakers to call themselves back into special session whenever they choose. SJR 102, which passed by a 52-48 margin, sets no limits on the length or frequency of those self-called special sessions; they could happen whenever 60% of the members of each house agree on topics to be addressed.
“It could have huge effect, it could have not that big of effect,” Kettler said. “It really depends on how the Legislature uses it.”
Senate Majority Leader Kelly Anthon, R-Burley, said, “I think the vast majority of legislators are going to be reticent to ever use that authority, or use it liberally. … I don’t think there will be a desire for that.”
“I think that leadership of any organization, particularly in the caucus, sets a tone that is critical,” he said. “I’m hearing that despite the differences in philosophy that may exist inside of the caucus, the desire to have steady leadership will allow those differences to play out in a civil way.”
He said he believes that in recent years, “There were members of the House who voted for matters knowing it wasn’t the best legislation and that it would be stopped in the Senate. I think that dynamic may change. … Those kinds of games are not good for the state.”
Winder said there will be lots of changes in Senate committee assignments and chairmanships due to the turnover, and as a result, more legislation may get to Senate committee hearings than has in the past. “But they still have to get off the floor of the Senate,” he said. “And I still think that the vast majority of the people there are going to be very reasonable, thoughtful, and stick to their conservative values for doing what’s best for the people of Idaho.”
“We’re trying to keep our leadership team together and be supportive of one another,” Winder said. “Bringing in a lot of new people, we need to have a good, strong leadership team that knows the rules and procedures and can get the work done.”
The House also will see new GOP leadership, with longtime Speaker Scott Bedke’s election as lieutenant governor; he’ll now preside over the Senate.
“I think the House will be fairly pretty much the same as it was before,” said current Assistant Majority Leader Jason Monks, R-Meridian, who along with Majority Leader Mike Moyle, R-Star, is one of two announced candidates to be the next speaker. “I don’t think it’s changed too much.”
“I think until we get in and we start voting, that’s how we start finding out who people are,” Monks said. “I don’t like to put people in boxes.”
Lawmakers from both houses and both parties will go on their biennial North Idaho Tour starting next Monday, when along with touring the Lewiston area and hearing presentations, lawmakers will caucus and those running for leadership will announce their bids to their caucuses.
Here’s how this year’s changes rippled across both houses, leaving identical party splits but different personalities on both sides of the Capitol rotunda:
SENATE
The Idaho Senate still will have 28 Republicans and seven Democrats, just as it does now. That’s even with the upset in the Treasure Valley’s swing district, District 15, where centrist Democrat Just, who was endorsed by outgoing GOP Sen. Fred Martin, defeated Rep. Codi Galloway, R-Boise, by 327 votes. That’s because up in Latah County, Sen. David Nelson, D-Moscow, lost to bombastic former GOP Sen. Dan Foreman by 391 votes, bringing the Senate party numbers back where they were.
Among the 28 Republicans in the 2023 Idaho Senate, there are 15 new faces, including some very outspoken conservatives. Among the seven Democrats, there are four new faces, including Just, but two are familiar: Former Sen. Ali Rabe, D-Boise, returns; and Rep. James Ruchti, D-Pocatello, won the Senate seat formerly held by the late Sen. Mark Nye, D-Pocatello. The other new face among Senate Dems is Ron Taylor of Hailey, who defeated Rep. Laurie Lickley, R-Jerome, to hold the Senate seat now held by Minority Leader Michelle Stennett, D-Ketchum. That district, District 26, changed quite a bit in redistricting, but Democrats held all three seats there.
The new faces among Senate Republicans include four who moved over from the House: Doug Okuniewicz of Hayden; Tammy Nichols of Middleton; Ben Adams of Nampa; and Linda Wright Hartgen of Twin Falls. Also, controversial former Rep. Phil Hart of Athol returns as a senator from Kellogg.
HOUSE
In the Idaho House, there will be 58 Republicans and 12 Democrats, just as there are now. The 58 Republicans include 28 new faces, though a handful are familiar: Former Rep. Britt Raybould, R-Rexburg, returns in place of current Rep. Ron Nate, whom she defeated in the GOP primary; former Rep. Steve Miller of Fairfield returns in a newly redrawn district; and former Rep. Jerald Raymond, R-Menan, returns in place of current Rep. Karey Hanks, whom he defeated in May. Another new House Republican may look slightly familiar, because new Rep. Jaron Crane, R-Nampa, is the younger brother of Rep. Brent Crane, R-Nampa.
Among the 12 Democrats in the 2023 Idaho House, the three new faces are Sonia Galaviz, who won the House 16A seat now held by Rep. John McCrostie, D-Garden City, who didn’t seek reelection; Karma Metzler Fitzgerald of Shoshone, who won the seat now held by third-term Rep. Sally Toone, the minority caucus chair who’s retiring; and Nate Roberts of Pocatello, who won Ruchti’s former House seat.
