Political Potatoes Practical Voting Guide
An honest assessment of legislative candidates running in the 2024 Idaho Primary
As an advocate against extremism and abusive tactics, I’ve spent the better part of the last six years tracking the bad behavior and disturbing antics of Idaho Freedom Foundation’s best and brightest. After the hell they've put my family through, the death threats, the doxxing, lawsuits, and attempts to cancel me, it’s safe to say few are more invested in understanding exactly who this group really is.
I’ve been accused of having an encyclopedic knowledge of Idaho's political landscape, so I reluctantly agreed when people asked me to publish a list of who I’d support.
While others use metrics like a “freedom score” based on self-serving legislation, I believe there is a better way to vet candidates.
Here are the questions I considered when making this list:
Is this candidate willing to use abusive behavior and tactics to push their agenda?
Does this candidate use a special interest group’s index to vote on bills, or do they listen to their constituents?
Does this candidate appear to be ethical?
Did this candidate spread conspiracy theories?
Is this candidate honest?
Does this candidate pose an active threat to the health and safety of Idahoans?
Based on my opinions on high-profile legislative races, I recommend this list of candidates and stress that these are not official endorsements. Please do your own research on each candidate before voting.
Senate District 1: Jim Woodward vs. Scott Herndon
Jim Woodward is a veteran, former state senator, and proven conservative. He’s been a lifelong resident of Idaho and has distinguishably served his state and country.
Scott Herndon shot his neighbor’s dog. He wants to eliminate Child Protective Services. He staged a gun protest and lawsuit, which cost taxpayers over $200k… and lost. He’s a smooth-talking raw milk advocate who’s got half the legislature legitimately terrified of him. I don’t trust Herndon to be honest, ethical, or safe for Idahoans. I believe he may be an active threat to the health and safety of Idahoans through legislation he pushes that is based on his Christian Nationalism.
Recommendation: Jim Woodward
Senate District 6: Robert Blair vs Dan Foreman
Sen. Dan Foreman introduced a personal bill to remove rape and incest exemptions from Idaho’s abortion laws. Imagine a nightmare scenario where your 13-year-old daughter was raped by a family member. Now think about how Foreman wants to charge your daughter with murder if she wants to terminate a pregnancy that was forced upon her against her will. Most pro-life Republicans agree this goes too far and Foreman shows he is willing to prioritize his Christian Nationalism over the health and welfare of Idahoans.
Robert Blair is a pragmatic Republican who has no interest in being controlled by the Idaho Freedom Foundation.
Recommendation: Robert Blair
House District 6A: Lori McCann vs Colton Bennett
Rep. Lori McCann has had a target on her back since she was appointed to fill a vacancy created after the previous legislator, Aaron von Ehlinger raped a 19-year-old intern. McCann stepped up and showed Idaho that there are still good Republicans out there who will not stand for the Idaho Freedom Foundation and their clone organizations’ antics. She has stepped up to protect our schools, and even when the “Freedom” cartel used the local party bosses to censure her for not obeying the IFF’s directives, she stood her ground and listened to her constituents. Whether you agree with her or not, this display of courage shows she is willing to fight abusive behavior and do what’s best for all Idahoans.
Colton Bennett appears willing to be groomed by the Idaho Freedom Foundation as their local attack dog against McCann.
Recommendation: Lori McCann
Senate District 8: Geoff Schoeder vs. Christy Zito
Geoff Schoeder is an attorney who could care less what the Idaho Freedom Foundation thinks of him. His willingness to negotiate to build a coalition to create legislative solutions exemplifies the kind of leadership we need in the legislature.
Christy Zito briefly served as the president of the Idaho Second Amendment Alliance where her greatest achievement was ensuring half a dozen silly gun memes were posted on the Facebook page daily. When Zito served in the senate, she could not even get her pro-gun bill passed the committee because of her inability to work well with others.
Recommendation: Geoff Schoeder
Senate District 9: Scott Syme vs. Brandon Shippy
Scott Syme is a former legislator who was edged out by a handful of votes when he was forced to run against Rep. Boyle after re-districting. Syme is an old-school conservative Republican and veteran.
Brandon Shippy is a Christian Nationalist who seeks to enforce his extreme ideologies through legislation. According to Shippy, “Babies conceived through consensual relationships enjoy privilege, receiving preferential treatment under Idaho law with legal protection, and consequences for intentional harm, However, the little baby girl conceived in rape lacks this privilege, facing discrimination solely due to the circumstances of her conception. She receives no legal protection, and the assassin who violently takes her life is shielded by Idaho law. This is unjust and barbaric.” Shippy also said, “When a woman takes her husband’s name, she is claiming to be under his authority.” Shippy comes from a long line of zealots whose belief system is rooted in authoritarianism.
Recommendation: Scott Syme
House District 9A: John Shirts vs. Jaycn Gallegher
John Shirts is a veteran, lawyer, and former federal prosecutor. With the backing of long-time far-right legislator Judy Boyle, Shirts is poised to give the incumbent a run for their money. Boyle has shaken her Idaho Freedom Foundation roots and saw what every Idahoan should see: a smart future legislator who won’t bend to IFF’s will.
Jaycn Gallegher is a perfect example of what happens when the Idaho Freedom Foundation uses its clone organizations to carpet bomb a district with dishonest mailers to win a seat. She spent the majority of her time in the legislature pushing bills based on conspiracy theories like mask-banning and opposition to vaccines. The district gets stuck with someone more invested in getting a near-perfect freedom score than doing what’s best for all Idahoans.
Recommendation: John Shirts
Senate District 10: Lori Bishop vs. Tammy Nichols
Lori Bishop is a vanilla candidate. She’s invested in being a mom, volunteering at her local public schools, and being active in her church. She was disgusted by Trump’s crass behavior towards women and, like many devout members of the LDS church, stuck to her convictions and voted against someone she felt was a bad example to her children. For this, the far right accuses her of wanting to murder babies, cut off children’s genitals, and peddling porn through libraries.
Tammy Nichols is a big fan of Stew Peters, a far-right influencer who recently declared that he wants to install a monarch in America. That’s right, he wants to overthrow the government and install a king. This is exactly the kind of tyranny the 2nd Amendment was designed to protect us from, and Sen. Tammy Nichols’ silence on this shows her consent. Nichols tweets about Hitler and paraded around with a proud boy who sported a swastika brand on his chest while running around with a felony conviction for serious sexual harm to a child. He claims he was just her “security.” Nichols has threatened SLAPP lawsuits to silence critics, and the IFF and its clone organizations will do just about anything to protect her from scrutiny.
Nichols was once chastised by an expert once for refusing to read a book after she tried to run a bill to ban the use of mRNA vaccines in all mammals. This included mRNA vaccines being tested to fight cancer and those used to protect cattle. My child has cancer, and as a parent, I would look at any possible treatment to help him. In my opinion, Nichols’ choice to invest in conspiracy theories over possible cancer treatments makes her a threat to the health and safety of my family.
Any Idahoan should be happy to have a school mom with integrity over a dangerous extremist in the Senate.
Recommendation: Lori Bishop
House District 10A: Speaker Mike Moyle vs. Rachel Hazelip
House Speaker Mike Moyle is not very popular with traditional conservative Republicans or anyone, for that matter. Until recently, members of the Idaho Freedom Caucus were engaged in open war with him until they realized that the corporate Marijuana group Young Americans for Liberty, which helped many of them get elected, had done such a bad job campaigning for them that they had become a liability. This led to them flip-flopping and writing a letter to support Speaker Moyle.
Regardless of how anyone feels about Moyle, his decades of experience in the House have earned him powerful connections that enable him to control a pipeline of donations that many need to win re-election. Experience matters, and Moyle has that in spades.
Rachel Hazelip is a political newcomer who was strategically recruited to run against Speaker Moyle. Young and energetic, her campaign was launched with the backing of another IFF clone and fake grassroots organization, Citizens Alliance of Idaho. She benefits from the significant resources being poured against Speaker Moyle, and this race will be a test to see if money alone can beat experience and broken allegiances.
Recommendation: Speaker Mike Moyle
Senate District 11: Camille Blaylock vs. Chris Trakel
Camille Blaylock is a newcomer who comes from a politically astute family. As the daughter of former state superintendent of schools and former Idaho GOP chairman, Blaylock has spent a lot of time around the establishment wing of the Republican party. Her pedigree and string of endorsements have made her a target of IFF and their clones.
Sen. Chris Trakel has a mean streak. During a school board meeting, Trakel used his position as a state senator to berate the volunteer school board members and demand they do what he asked. His outburst led to shouting and chaos that disrupted the meeting. His arguments were based on far-right conspiracy theories, and a video of his outburst was used by IFF and their clones to show how proud they were of his abusive behavior. Trakel has repeatedly shown he is more invested in performative and confrontational behavior than in forming a consensus to pass effective legislation. He can not be trusted to serve Idaho in good faith.
Recommendation: Camille Blaylock
House District 11A: Julie Yamamoto vs. Kent Marmon
Rep. Julie Yamamoto is a former educator and a school principal who was beloved by the community. She was drafted and supported by the far right to run for the legislature and won. After serving for a while, she realized that those who helped her win were making demands of her that went against her convictions, and she chose to listen to her constituents over the IFF.
Bucking the far-right political machine led to some of the nastiest and most abusive tactics ever seen in Idaho politics. IFF clone groups photoshopped her face on a Playbook magazine cover saying she wanted to put porn in libraries. They purchased billboards with similar disgusting claims. Yamamoto refuses to back down from their attempts to intimidate her and continues to do what her constituents elected her to do.
The IFF machine pulled Kent Marmon from its back bench to run against Yamamoto. If elected, Marmon is committed to chasing a perfect IFF score and has never denounced the disgusting tactics that help his campaign.
Recommendation: Julie Yamamoto
House District 11B: Sarah Chaney vs Lucas Cayler
Sarah Chaney has experience working as a corrections officer and a 911 dispatcher. Her law enforcement roots run deep, and she currently helps run her husband’s successful law firm. While her husband, Greg Chaney, served in the Idaho House, protesters aligned with the IFF showed up at their home. She and Greg stood strong and refused to give in to the demands of an angry mob. Chaney’s faith and commitment to serving her community is exactly what Idaho needs right now.
Lucas Cayler is a political newcomer with no leadership experience and a former follower of Ammon Bundy. While I know there is so much more to share about Cayler, this blog is family-friendly, so I will refrain from discussing things that might offend. I can not stress just how disturbed I am by what I’ve learned about him.
Recommendation: Sarah Chaney
House District 12A: Jeff Cornilles vs. Jarome Bell
Compared to Bell, Jeff Cornilles is a safe bet. He is the incumbent and has shown himself to be a reasonable person who will listen to his constituents.
Jarome Bell recently moved to Idaho from Virginia, where he ran an unsuccessful campaign for Congress. He continues to run as the Ultra-MAGA candidate who said he wanted to execute anyone who engaged in voter fraud. As someone who is deeply invested in the election interference big lie, one could assume what he wants to do to anyone he believes is responsible for Trump’s loss to Biden in 2020. His profanity-laced podcast is filled with fringe conspiracy theories, and he claims to be a member of the America First movement, a group tied to Nick Fuentes. I can not see any reason why someone would support a candidate so removed from reality.
Recommendation: Jeff Cornilles
Senate District 13: Jeff Agenbroad vs Brian Lenney
in 2022, Jeff Agenbroad lost to Brian Lenney in what should be a case study of what happens when a reasonable candidate is blindsided by confrontational tactics and does not fight back against a barrage of lies. Agenbroad was widely respected by his peers in the legislature and worked hard to pass good legislation. This time, Agenbroad is taking the fight to Lenney to reverse a big mistake.
Brian Lenney is a professional copywriter who has written children’s books such as “Why Everyone Needs an AR-15” and “Why Feminism is Silly” in which he called Palestine a country.
Sen. Brian Lenney uses the border crisis to mask his mild racism towards Hispanic laborers working on farms in Idaho, and his solution is to use technology to replace them.
Lenney publicly bragged about being from the largest agricultural state (California), which granted him the qualifications necessary to argue policy with Rep. Stephanie Mickelsen, who owns one of Idaho's largest potato farming operations.
It's my opinion that his inflated ego and investment in conspiracy theories make him ineffective, and time wasted on his culture war legislation prevents important bills from passing. Lenney is woefully dishonest and deeply invested in helping the most abusive trolls within the IFF network.
Recommendation: Jeff Agenbroad
Senate District 20: Chuck Winder vs. John Keyser
Senate President pro tempore Chuck Winder is a veteran naval aviator with decades of public service experience. He previously served as the Senate majority leader. Winder removed Lenney, Zuiderveld, and Herndon from the committee leadership roles after engaging in disruptive antics, including using their media platforms to disparage their senate colleagues. His decisive actions, which most Idahoans agreed with, led to a fierce outcry from the Idaho Freedom Foundation.
The IFF and its clone army aligned with John Keyser to run against Winder in retaliation for the public embarrassment caused by Winder’s punitive actions towards the far-right senators. Keyser has engaged in the kind of dishonest messaging the IFF network is known for.
Recommendation: Chuck Winder
Senate District 21: Treg Bernt vs. Brenda Bourn
Sen. Treg Bernt is a popular Republican with little patience for far-right shenanigans. He routinely goes against IFF’s directives and as a result, they double down on their attacks against him. The onslaught of mean tweets aimed at him is so bad they would be banned from Idaho libraries and even make far-right Rep. Julianne Young blush.
Until this week, I had never heard of Brenda Bourn. The far-right political machine put up another candidate with little to no political experience to show Bernt they could flex their muscle and deploy outside astroturfing groups to try to weaken support for him.
Recommendation: Treg Bernt
House District 23A: Melissa Durant vs. Chris Bruce
Melissa Durant’s conviction to do what her constituents wanted meant your kids still have a public school to attend, even if this put her in the crosshairs of out-of-state pro-voucher groups funded by billionaires.
Few people had ever heard of Chris Bruce before he ran for office. He benefits from the large-scale attack mailers to punish her for voting against vouchers.
Recommendation: Melissa Durant
House District 23B: Shawn Dygert vs. Tina Lambert
I have never met a better candidate for Idaho’s legislature than Shawn Dygert. When you think of the best of Idaho, he is it. Period.
As an Agriculture Education Teacher and FFA Advisor for 35 years, including 33 years in Kuna, Dygert has forged a strong bond with the community he serves. Dygert’s conservative credentials are impeccable.
Rep. Tina Lambert is another Idaho Freedom Foundation groupie who recently moved to Idaho.
Recommendation: Shawn Dygert
Senate District 24: Alex Carvel vs. Glenneda Zuiderveld
Alex Carvel is an accomplished attorney unwilling to yield to Idaho Freedom Foundation trolls.
Sen. Glenneda Zuiderveld is an award-winning doxxer of children and is beloved by the Idaho Freedom Foundation. Her antics were so bad Senate Pro Tem Chuck Winder had to remove her from her committee leadership position. Zuiderveld’s extremely abusive behavior and lack of ethics are huge red flags.
Recommendation: Alex Carvel
House District 24A: Chenele Dixon vs. Clint Hostetler
Rep. Chenele Dixon is a solid Republican who does not fold under the Idaho Freedom Foundation's constant pressure. Backed by the IFF’s clone network, Clint Hostetler is hostile towards anyone he’s decided is a RINO and exhibits many red flags.
Recommendation: Chenele Dixon
House District 31B: Rod Furniss vs. Karey Hanks
Rep. Rod Furniss has shown he is willing to stand up to bullies. He will fight the IFF at every turn and push legislation that has purpose and actually helps Idahoans. As a result of his strong leadership and coalition building, he has drawn constant abuse from the IFF network of trolls.
Karey Hanks lost her election and has been campaigning for two years to be relevant again. I believe Hanks is another IFF groupie who is more than willing to drive the bad legislation bus over the edge to earn a near-perfect “Freedom Score.”
Recommendation: Rod Furniss
House 32B: Sean Coletti vs. Wendy Horman vs. Bryan Smith
Rep. Wendy Horman is the incumbent in this race and has helped IFF win one of its biggest victories—splitting the budgets. She aligned with them to push another school voucher bill and came through for them when they needed her voter. Yet she failed to learn the lesson of the frog and the scorpion.
Two-time failed congressional candidate Bryan Smith, the most hated medical debt collector in Idaho, fought Melaleuca founder and billionaire Frank VanderSloot, which led to the passing of legislation curtailing Smith’s ability to collect astronomically high legal fees on medical debt. Smith has directed lawsuits against multiple Melaleuca employees and is an Idaho Freedom Foundation board member.
I’ve faced Smith in multiple depositions and used to attend the same church congregation as him. In my first-hand experience with him, I can say I have never met a more sinister person. Smith is the only one I know who is so despised that his own father tried to kill him.
Sean Coletti is an attorney and Mayor of Ammon.
Recommendation: Sean Colletti
House 35B: Josh Wheeler vs. Brett Skidmore
Rep. Josh Wheeler is a successful business owner who defeated Chad Christensen in 2022. He helped form a coalition of common-sense legislators to oppose the Idaho Freedom Caucus. His fearlessness and tenacity in doing what’s right for his constituents made him a target of IFF’s political machine.
With the support of IFF’s board members Bryan Smith and Doyle Beck, Brett Skidmore launched an expensive campaign to try and unseat Wheeler. Voters have been instructed by former Rep. Christensen to ignore his arrest record and past criminal charges because he is a “proven conservative” and thinks about liberty. These are serious red flags.
Recommendation: Josh Wheeler
Please contact me on X (Twitter) if you have questions about any other candidates.
Disclaimer: The following is intended to convey an opinion on newsworthy events of public concern regarding public figures and/or public officials in the exercise of their official duties. No implications or inferences—beyond those explicitly stated in the preceding—are intended to be conveyed or endorsed by the Author. Wherever available, hyperlinks have been provided to allow readers to directly access any underlying assertions of fact upon which this opinion is based.
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