April 17, 2026

By: Idaho Gang of Eight

Voters across Idaho are seeing a new round of attack mailers, television, and digital ads targeting several legislators, including members of the Gang of 8.

They all follow the same pattern.

They use emotionally charged claims tied to crimes against children.

They suggest legislators “cut” or “voted against” efforts to stop those crimes.

And they leave the clear impression that these lawmakers are soft on protecting kids.

That is not true.

Even Attorney General Raúl Labrador took the unusual step of publicly calling out these attacks. In his official statement released April 16, 2026, he said Idahoans “are being deliberately misled” by ads from Idaho Values First that “falsely claim certain legislators voted against funding for my office’s Internet Crimes Against Children Unit. That claim is misleading and flatly untrue.”

He noted the ads twist an across-the-board 5% budget cut into something it wasn’t. They ignore that the targeted lawmakers supported H971, which restored funding to the Attorney General’s office, including the ICAC Unit. Labrador called the tactic “a new low” that exploits the work of protecting children from online predators.

That alone should tell you something.

What These Ads Are Designed to Do

These mailers are not trying to inform voters.

They are designed to provoke a reaction.

The ads focus on votes related to the Attorney General’s budget. In reality, the legislature first passed S1331, which applied across-the-board spending cuts to nearly every state agency. This included a general reduction to the Attorney General’s office, not a targeted cut to the ICAC Unit.

The Legislature then passed H971, a budget bill that partially restored funding to the Attorney General’s office, including support for the ICAC Unit. The targeted members of the Gang of 8 voted for that bill.

Notably, these ads do not target legislators who actually voted against H971.

The full context is left out, turning a routine budget process into a false narrative.

The ads take something everyone agrees on, protecting children, and then twist budget votes into something they are not. The goal is simple. Create doubt. Create anger. Make the voter wary of the candidate in question.

It works because most people do not have time to dig into budget details or the legislative process. They see a claim tied to something serious and assume it must be true.

It is not.

So Who Is Behind These Ads?

The group behind them calls itself Idaho Values First.

Unlike most organizations engaged in public advocacy, there is almost no public-facing information available:

• No website
• No Facebook page
• No clear explanation of its mission or leadership

The only visible activity is a YouTube channel created a few days before the ads launched. It pushes attack videos targeting G8 members and other legislators, yet has only 3 subscribers.

Despite its limited presence, the group is clearly spending significant money on distributing these mailers, TV, and digital ads.

What can be verified is this:

Idaho Values First is registered as a nonprofit corporation with the Idaho Secretary of State. Those filings are public, and anyone can review them.

According to those records, the organization was created in 2021, dissolved, and later reinstated under different leadership. The current listed leadership includes:

• Rolando Ruano, Director
• Cheryl Miller, Director
• Judith Ellis, Director

Why This Raises Questions

Rolando Ruano is the most active identifiable figure tied to the group. He serves as one of its Directors and is also their registered lobbyist.

Public records show he is an immigration and criminal defense attorney who has participated in Democrat primaries and previously interned with the ACLU of Idaho.

His own social media posts reveal strongly partisan rhetoric against conservative voters and Trump supporters:

The group’s corporate filings list a single shared address, offering little additional insight into its operations.

This creates an inconsistent picture: a low-profile nonprofit with mixed political signals and limited public presence is running coordinated, emotionally charged attacks on Republican legislators, all while offering almost no explanation of its own “Idaho Values.”

Voters have every right to ask who is really behind these ads and why the full story isn’t being told.

This is Bigger Than One Mailer

This is not just about one misleading mailer.

It is about how these groups operate.

• No transparency beyond required filings
• No public accountability
• No meaningful public presence
• Significant spending to influence voters

They can make serious accusations, push them widely, and avoid scrutiny at the same time.

And this is exactly why these ads are so concerning.

Breaking Down the Claims

Greg Pruett with Honor Idaho put together a video that walks through these claims and explains why they are false and misleading. It is worth watching if you want to understand exactly how these attacks are constructed.

Senator Zuiderveld’s Response

Senator Glenneda Zuiderveld responded directly to these attacks and others in her Substack. Her article goes beyond a single mailer, showing how these narratives are built and repeated.

Senator Zito on the Bigger Problem

Senator Christy Zito addresses the bigger issue. Her Substack focuses on what happens when politics shifts from debate to deliberate misrepresentation.

The Bottom Line

These mailers are not about protecting children.

They are about using that sensitive issue to attack political opponents who prioritize spending restraint.

Before accepting what you see in a mailer or ad, check the actual record on the Idaho Legislature Website. The facts are available, they just aren’t in these kinds of deceptive ads.