Conservative Groups Release Idaho Republican Primary Voter Guides

Several conservative groups have released voter guides for the May 17th primaries. There is surprising unanimity at the top of the ticket and throughout.

Action Idaho has compiled a guide to the voter guides, broken down by legislative districts so voters can see who these conservative groups have endorsed. PDFs compiling all the voter guides are at the bottom of this article.

The three voter guides come from the ConservativesOf: Idaho PAC, Stop Idaho Rinos PAC and Rep. Heather Scott. Each guide has a different emphasis, but they often agree.

ConservativesOf (that is not a spelling mistake!) is a nationwide movement, with a branch in most states. ConservativesOf looks for candidates who support “Constitutional Judeo-Christian principles” and who oppose all kinds of collectivism and authoritarian rule. Idaho’s chapter makes its own state and local endorsements. Local activists have much input on endorsements at the district level, who both know the candidates from years of building relationships or who do extensive interviews.

Stop Idaho Rinos seeks to stop RINOs (Republicans in Name Only) who have, they say, R’s behind their name but who don’t act like conservatives and who work “for special interests/lobbying groups instead of for conservative ideals.” Stop Idaho RINOs fashions themselves as “conservative patriots,” whose view of the world is informed by God, Family, and Country. Issues important to Stop Idaho RINOs include small government, religious freedom, medical freedom, education freedom, parental rights, and others. “We could go on,” they write, they know people will “get the picture.”

Heather Scott is a well-known representative from northern Idaho, running unopposed in this year’s primary and general election. Her website, “Growing Freedom for Idaho” emphasizes less government, lower taxes, more freedom, and more transparency.

On the opposite end of the spectrum is the Take Back Idaho voter guide, put out by those who are considered RINOs. Not one candidate endorsed by Take Back Idaho is endorsed by any of the three conservative groups. Take Back Idaho endorses all of the incumbent executive officials—and others who fund their campaigns mostly with large corporate donations. Stop Idaho RINOs wants to take back Idaho from the Rinos; while Take Back Idaho wants to stop those who would stop the Rinos.

These dueling voter guides reveal the Republican civil war, much discussed in the national media. While the national media concerns itself with Idaho’s Governor race between incumbent Brad Little and challenger Janice McGeachin, the voter guides are just as interested in what is going on down ballot.

The conservative groups sometimes reach different results as they balance what they do not know, pragmatism, and conservative principles. In District 14’s State Senate race, for instance, incumbent senators C. Scott Grow and Steven Thayn, neither with outstanding conservative voting records, were put in the same district. Stop Idaho RINOs and ConservativesOf endorsed Thayn, while Heather Scott put her weight behind newcomer Katie Donahue, who, it seems, does not even have a website. Often the issue is not enough information. Legislative District 21, seat A pits several new politicians against each other. Heather Scott and ConservativesOf are endorsing Tara Pugmire, while Stop Idaho RINOs are behind Tyler Ricks.

ConservativesOf are seeking to promote their voter guide through mass mailings in the next several weeks, while the others are relying on internet propagation.

Action Idaho hopes to inform citizens about the rise of a dangerous oligarchy in Idaho and in the country at large—and to point toward solutions to return rule and virtue to the people. It endorses a Trumpian brand of politics.

View Action Idaho's "Guide to the Guides" for each district here:

https://www.actionidaho.org/conservative-guide

Or download the printable PDF to share:

AI-GuideToTheGuides-Final

.pdf

Download PDF • 7.21MB