May 10, 2024
By: Karyn Simmons
Pocatello–Voters across the Gem State received the following text message on Wednesday:
The text was paid for by Melaleuca. The included link takes recipients to the following YouTube video:
The video is posted on a website called ILoveIdaho.org, which proudly proclaims that it is “Paid For By Gem State Conservatives.” A tab on the homepage, labeled “Find Candidates We Support,” leads to a page that states: “Meet our team of Idahoans. We are Republicans who believe in the Big Tent Party Ronald Reagan envisioned. We are conservative common sense Republicans who want to bring in new voices and build a party that works to represent the voters who elected them.” A drop-down menu on the page provides voters with the name of the supported PC Candidate running in their district.
In Bannock County, the list of supported candidates includes long-time Republican Party leaders, as well as several current elected officials. Notably, candidates promoting fiscal responsibility in government, such as John Crowder, are not on the list. Also notable in their absence are younger candidates and those whose involvement in politics began recently.
Gem State Conservatives is a Caldwell-based group whose stated purpose is “to invigorate more voices within the party and build the Big Tent that Ronald Reagan dreamed of.” Their Facebook page appears to be dedicated to the elections of “mainstream conservative Republicans” to precinct committee positions across the state. Brian Almon, editor of the Gem State Chronicle, dug into the group’s founding in an article published in March called “There is Nothing Conservative about Gem State Conservatives”.
