March 30, 2024
The Game Begins
The 2024 GOP primary is officially underway
By: Brian Almon
The withdrawal deadline for the 2024 primary passed Friday evening, which means the players for this year’s nomination contests are set. Several candidates have dropped out for various reasons. I want to specifically commend Nicole Hyland and Butch Suor for putting party before pride and stepping out of three-way races so as not to split the challenger vote.
There are still a few three-ways left, however, so it will be interesting to see how they play out.
I also want to commend former Rep. Chad Christensen. He and Rep. Kevin Andrus had apparently worked out a deal for Christensen to run unopposed in District 35, but Andrus reconsidered and stayed in the race. Rather than campaigning against someone who he mostly agrees with, Christensen withdrew and is already preparing for 2026.
Finally, I want to give props to Rep. Mike Kingsley, who is retiring from the Legislature after four terms. He’s been a solid defender of liberty and a founding member of the Idaho Freedom Caucus. I hope that many are inspired by his example to get involved and make a difference.
Two weeks ago I introduced Primary Pulse, a new feature at the Gem State Chronicle that aims to put as much information as possible about legislative candidates at your fingertips. I am pleased to report that I have completed profile pages for every single legislative candidate in the Republican primary.
I still need to add various endorsements as well as fill in information that I was not able to find at the time, but the site is functional now. Click on a candidate name to see their own page, and click on the district to see a comparison of all candidates in that race.
While I will be using this platform to make recommendations in certain races, supporting some candidates while calling out others, I want the Primary Pulse to be as objective as possible. For each candidate’s statement I tried to find something on their website or social media that summed up their overall reason for running, but any candidate is free to submit a customer statement. If you are a candidate, or connected to a campaign, and you would like to submit a list of endorsements, links, or a custom statement, feel free to email me.
Over the next two months I will do my best to bring you up to date news and information about these campaigns. I will try to visit various events, luncheons, meet & greets, etc. and share with you whatever I learn.
In the meantime I will be working to make this platform everything I envision it to be. I hope to have the merch store up soon, so you can support my work and get some fun swag in return. If you have a business you’d like to showcase via sponsorship, send me an email and we’ll talk.
I have a few other projects I’m working on, including some that are video related, so stay tuned for those as well.
We’re just getting started. I’ll see you on the trail!
