One of the nation’s reddest states could become a ranked choice battleground

Idaho’s potatoes are a truly praiseworthy addition to any dinner table. On the other hand, political stories emanating from the state can cause severe heartburn. 

Just this year alone, Idaho has garnered nationwide headlines because of the handiwork of a Legislature controlled by extreme-right Republicans, including a law banning medical care for transgender kids, legislation to criminalize doctors referring pregnant women for out-of-state abortions and reinstituting death by firing squad.

Idaho is certainly not perfect, but it has a long history of moderate, pragmatic politics and independent-minded political figures. Democrat Frank Church served as Idaho senator for 24 years and Cecil Andrus, also a Democrat, won the governorship in four elections. That all began to change in the 1990s when workers who made their living in natural resource industries started giving credence to GOP claims that Democrats were causing job losses in those industries because of their pro-environment policies.

What caused the largest shift in Idaho politics, however, was the takeover of the Republican Party structure by right-wing zealots in 2007. Five years later, the extremists succeeded in closing GOP primary elections to all but registered party members. It has been increasingly difficult since then for reasonable Republicans to make it to the general election ballot, where the Republican label usually ensures victory.

The legislative district that encompasses the University of Idaho in the northern part of the state illustrates the problem. Over many years, it generally produced moderate legislators from either party, but in the 2022 election a conservative Republican, Dan Foreman, captured the state Senate seat. He won the GOP primary with 2,792 votes — just 8.8 percent of registered voters in his district per my calculations — and then, with a scorched-earth campaign, defeated a moderate Democrat in the general election, thanks in large part to his party affiliation.

Because of the closed primary, there are essentially two Republican Parties in Idaho — ultraconservatives who control a majority in the Legislature and traditional Republicans who manage to eke out wins for most statewide offices but have a difficult time winning down-ticket offices.

When Reclaim Idaho, a nonpartisan open government group, announced earlier this year that it was going to mount a voter initiative to eliminate closed primaries in the state and implement an Alaska-style ranked choice system, many traditional Republicans saw it as the answer to their prayers. Independents, who comprise more than 27 percent of the electorate, also rejoiced because they had essentially been excluded from choosing governmental leaders. I am a founding member of Veterans for Idaho Voters, which is part of the coalition supporting Reclaim Idaho.

But Republican Party leadership recoiled in fear because Reclaim had established a record of success with initiatives, using only unpaid volunteer signature-gatherers. The organization ran a successful initiative in 2018 to expand Idaho’s Medicaid program, garnering 61 percent of the vote. The group gathered enough signatures to put an initiative on the 2022 ballot to substantially increase public school funding. That caused Republicans to call a special session of the legislature to increase spending slightly more than the initiative, which accomplished what Reclaim was trying to achieve.

Party functionaries have been in crisis mode trying to frustrate Reclaim’s plans. In March, they passed legislation to prohibit ranked choice voting in the state. (The initiative’s language would repeal it.) Dorothy Moon, the Republican Party chairwoman, has orchestrated a publicity campaign against the initiative. Most recently, she brought former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) to Idaho to relate how she lost her race for Congress last year because of Alaska’s ranked choice system. It is not clear whether Palin will mention that she lost because of her wretched campaign.

Reclaim also encountered difficulty from Idaho’s far-right attorney general, Raúl Labrador, who tried to undermine the initiative on legal grounds. The Idaho Supreme Court brought Labrador up short, awarding Reclaim its attorney fees for challenging him. Having dealt with Labrador, Reclaim started its signature drive Aug. 19. To qualify for the 2024 general election ballot, Reclaim must get the signatures of more than 6 percent of Idaho’s registered voters, about 63,000 signatures, by next May. It is likely to happen.

The national media have taken an interest in the Reclaim initiative, probably because ranked choice can succeed almost anywhere that voter initiatives are allowed by law if it can succeed in a deep red state like Idaho. The state also presents a prime example of the struggle between traditionalists and extremists for the soul of the Republican Party. 

It is pretty likely that the contest will draw in substantial campaign money from out of state because the extremist branch of Idaho’s GOP has painted it as a make-it-or-break-it struggle for power that will have reverberations across the country. That is undoubtedly correct.

Jim Jones is a Vietnam combat veteran who served 8 years as Idaho attorney general (1983-1991) and 12 years as a justice on the Idaho Supreme Court (2005-2017). He is a founding member of Veterans for Idaho Voters, which is part of the coalition supporting Reclaim Idaho, and a strong supporter of Reclaim Idaho’s ranked choice initiative.