A Primer on the Primaries

It’s been a quiet week, but the primary elections are right around the corner!  Let’s take a quick look at this year’s local primary candidates.

Read the full transcript of the video below:

How’s it going y’all? Aiden Anderson here with the Moscow Minutes. It’s been a pretty quiet week in local politics. The county commissioners approved a couple contract renewals, went through some property tax exemptions… and that’s pretty much it.

With that out of the way, I want to draw your attention to the election we have coming up in May. Let’s talk about the Idaho primaries.

While the main focus of election season is typically the November race, the primaries play a crucial role in helping the various political parties in Idaho put their candidates forward for the end of the year. This year, the Idaho Primary Election takes place on May 19th, with early voting starting on April 27th.

Now, the deadline to file for running for office has long-since closed this year, but we still have a big slate of folks who have thrown their hat in the ring. I’m gonna take some time to go through the candidates running in this year’s local primaries, because it’s gonna be important to familiarize yourself with these folks in order to make an informed decision when you cast your ballot.

The Republicans and Democrats each have their own primary, and you’ll receive a different ballot based on which primary you vote in. One thing to keep in mind is that the Republican primary requires you to be a registered member of the Republican party in order to vote in it, whereas I believe the Democrat primary remains open to anyone regardless of registration.

The website VoteIdaho.gov makes it super easy to see who’s running for what office, so let’s give a look.

First up, the Republicans. Lori McCann, a current state representative, is challenging incumbent Dan Foreman for the state senator position. Colton Bennett and Cindy Agidius will be competing to fill Lori’s place as the state rep nominee. State Rep Brandon Mitchell does not have a primary challenger this year, so we’ll see him on the ballot in November, and James Spencer is listed here as having withdrawn his candidacy.

On the Democrat side, we have a packed race indeed. Robin Weldy and Richard Gayler are facing off for the state senate position. There is a three way race between Ryan Augusta, Trish Carter-Goodheart, and current Moscow City Counselor Bryce Blankenship for one of the state rep positions, while Kathy Dawes and Kenneth D. Williams compete for the other.

Do keep in mind that whoever wins these primaries will be facing off against further opponents from the other party in the November election, so this will not be the last you see of at least some of these candidates. That said, this election is no less important than the one in November, as it allows you to shape the vision and presentation of the party you support by voting for candidates that best reflect your values and goals, so don’t neglect it just because it doesn’t guarantee a seat in office.
There’ll be plenty of campaign events and activities over the next few weeks, and we’ll do our best to keep you posted on all of it. Again, if you want more voting information, check out VoteIdaho.gov. We’ll have the relevant links posted with this video, and you have any questions, please reach out. I’m Aiden Anderson with the Moscow Minutes. We’ll see you next time.