April 23, 2026
How Do We Keep Idaho from Becoming Colorado or Washington?
I hear the same question over and over: “How do we keep Idaho from turning into Colorado or Washington?”
In recent years, more people aren’t just asking, they’re warning that we must fight back if we want to avoid the fate of other states that shifted blue.
My answer today is the same as it was ten years ago:
Get rid of ballot initiatives.
Ballot initiatives are a form of direct democracy. They don’t belong in a representative republic, and they’ve become one of the left’s most effective tools for bypassing the legislative process entirely.
If you don’t like what your lawmakers are doing, the solution is simple: replace them with people who share your values.
If there aren’t enough voters to do that, then that’s the reality of living in a red state, and people who want liberal policies can move to a liberal state like California.
The truth is that ballot initiatives have already been used to push gun control in red states. It happened in Ohio. It happened in Florida.
And in Washington, no longer red at all, gun control initiatives have passed repeatedly.
It’s only a matter of time before they try it here in Idaho. They’re already pushing an initiative that would allow abortion up to birth, and last year, they tried to force ranked‑choice voting into law.
Some people might say, “Gun owners will crush a gun control initiative.”
I hope that’s true. But the reality is that these initiatives are always framed in deceptive language such as “stopping criminals,” “common‑sense safety,” “protecting the Second Amendment while targeting bad actors.”
Just like the abortion initiative is being sold as “women’s health,” a gun control initiative will be packaged to mislead voters who don’t know better.
And remember:
- The mainstream media acts as a full‑time promotional arm for these initiatives.
- Outside groups have virtually unlimited money.
- The left has an army of volunteers and paid operatives who will do whatever it takes to win.
Some still think eliminating initiatives sounds “radical,” but that number shrinks every election cycle as we watch the left mobilize again and again.
Others ask, “Can’t we run good initiatives?”
Even if you set aside the direct‑democracy argument, the answer is: you can try, but good luck.
Look at the grocery tax repeal initiative this year. It’s widely supported across ideological lines. It would be considered a “good initiative” by most Idahoans.
And yet it’s not even close to making the ballot.
Why?
Because the right doesn’t have:
- the organizational machine,
- the media megaphone, or
- the money to push an initiative across the finish line.
Maybe once in a decade, a good one gets through. But is that worth allowing six or seven bad ones to pass in the meantime? I don’t believe it is.
If Idaho wants to avoid becoming the next Washington or Colorado, then we must stop repeating the same strategies that failed in those states.
Thank you for standing with us. If you want to be part of this fight, please consider joining the Idaho Second Amendment Alliance today.
God bless,
Greg Pruett
Idaho Second Amendment Alliance
