ADA, CANYON — Over a dozen incumbents were defeated in the Republican Primary Election, including both representatives in District 23. We have reactions from those Republican candidates who came out on top and what they feel this says about Republican voters.
- See more election results here.
- Idaho GOP spokesperson sharing with Idaho News 6 their response to the shake-up.
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story.)
Idaho's state house is on track to look and sound a little different next session.
"We have got to tackle how to do this property tax relief and how to [still] fund schools properly," said District 23B candidate Shawn Dygert.
Kuna High School educator Shawn Dygert and Kuna City Council member Chris Bruce beat out incumbents in District 23 to secure a spot on the November ballot.
"If you find a candidate that you connect with, who is going to take that message to the state house, then a lot of people are pushing for that," said District 23A candidate Chris Bruce.
With 15 GOP incumbent legislators losing their re-election campaigns, what does that say about what Republican voters want to see?
"It's pretty clear that people want a pretty conservative agenda, moving forward. They also don't want the divisiveness and some of the tactics that perhaps some of the groups in the Republican Party have used in the past," said Dygert.
"I think it's good, I think it's the will of the people saying 'hey, this is what we want.' I think what happened is a lot of folks have gone so far left that they look at me and they think that I'm [far] right, but I'm just a family man who cares about his wife, his children and his God," said Bruce.
I reached out to both current representatives, Melissa Durrant and Tina Lambert, who ran for re-election in the district, but have not heard back from Lambert.
Representative Durrant did post on social media saying, “I’m so thankful for the support I have received these past 2 years. Even though it didn’t turn out how I had hoped, I have enjoyed the opportunity to serve the people of District 23 in the Idaho Legislature.”
Idaho GOP Chairwoman Dorothy Moon tells Idaho News 6, she hopes the party unites as they move towards the November election.
