What I’m Fighting For
Government should serve the people of Idaho, uphold constitutional principles, and address the challenges facing families and communities across our state.
The issues we face are not impossible to solve. But they require leaders willing to listen, engage, and do the work
Affordability
Across Idaho, families are questioning whether they can continue to afford to live here, facing rising costs for groceries, wages, housing, and raising a family in the place they love. Idahoans didn’t create the affordability crisis, and they deserve a governor focused on fixing it.
Our governor boasts that Idaho is the least regulated state in America. How can this be true when we have the highest grocery tax in the country? Our housing is the second least affordable in the country.
I want Idaho families to be able to thrive, and right now they aren’t able to. I’m committed to policies that help every generation of Idahoan.
Healthcare Access
Idahoans deserve to have access to quality medical care, and that care should exist in their communities, not an hour or two away. As the legislature and governor continue to reduce access to Medicaid (42,000 Idahoans lost access this year), we are undermining the future of our rural communities.
As people lose access, more people go without care, and that leads to our health care providers losing patients and income. This has already caused many of our healthcare workers to leave our state. We should make Idaho a place doctors and healthcare professionals want to practice, not leave. I support initiatives passed by the citizens of Idaho - including reinstating Medicaid access and Prop 1 should it be passed.
Education & Opportunity
Idaho’s Constitution requires a quality public education for every child in Idaho, no matter how large or small their community. That is not a suggestion; it’s a sacred obligation.
As governor, I would hold our state to that promise. I would not let our schools - or our kids - fall behind. I once heard a governor say “We’re not fulfilling our constitutional obligation to school children, but we’re doing the best we can.” This is not how we fulfill our constitutional obligations, and it’s letting down Idaho’s kids.
Idaho’s teachers deserve our respect and appropriate compensation for taking on challenging jobs to give our children a better future.
As governor, I will work to undo the damage caused by the school choice voucher bill and return the more than $50 million that was siphoned away from Idaho’s public education.
Constitutional Leadership
I swore an oath to uphold the Constitution, and that oath still means something to me.
Government works best when it remains accountable to the people, respects individual rights, and follows the principles that have guided our state and nation for generations.
When the people of Idaho vote by a majority, it is the duty of their legislature to facilitate. I promise to stand by what Idahoans decide for themselves, not what special interest groups are pushing for.
This relates to questions such as those surrounding Flock Cameras. Congress is currently considering requiring a warrant before federal authorities can access the data from Flock cameras, and I would support an Idaho statute that would similarly protect Idahoan’s privacy. The mass surveillance and warrantless tracking enabled by Flock cameras raises serious and legitimate concerns. We need to find the balance where our police forces have the tools they need to keep our communities safe and citizens are able to maintain privacy.
Public Lands
Idaho’s public lands are and should continue to be accessible to the public - full stop. They are not a personal playground for billionaires looking to buy up what rightfully belongs to all of us.
Retaining and maintaining public ownership isn’t optional; it’s the point of public lands. Preserving access to public lands for hunting, fishing, hiking, and recreation is non-negotiable. Public lands are Idaho’s crown jewels. They are not for sale.
Water Rights
Idaho’s water shortage did not begin overnight and it won’t be solved overnight, but we need to start as soon as possible to identify solutions.
Idaho families and farmers are already paying the price of inaction. Whether it’s increasing capacity in our existing reservoirs or identifying ways to reduce loss of water - such as via underground dams retaining water in the Eastern Snake Plain Aquifer - we need to pursue long-term solutions to ensure that this critical resource is protected.
Data Centers
The American public has been very clear that they are not interested in huge data centers being built in their communities without their input or agreement. Data centers consume large amounts of power and water, and their noise pollution can destroy the tranquility of their neighborhoods.
Idaho families deserve to trust that any data centers built in our state will not take away from the people who live there. Companies who want to build here should have to prove that the resources are available, that communities will not be negatively impacted, and that the construction makes sense for Idahoans, not just for billion-dollar companies and their shareholders.
Future growth should serve Idahoans, and if it doesn’t, it should go elsewhere.
Strong Communities
Strong communities don't happen by accident.
They are built by families, local leaders, small businesses, educators, and neighbors who care deeply about where they live. Government should support those efforts - not stand in their way.
I don’t support the Idaho legislature’s effort to remove or limit local government’s ability to govern themselves. The government closest to the people works the best.