April 30, 2026
Why the Grocery Tax Repeal Won’t Make the Ballot, And What Happens Next
By: Honor Idaho President Greg Pruett
While many Idahoans are rightly focused on stopping the abortion initiative headed for the ballot this November, far less attention has been given to another initiative, one that likely has far broader appeal across the state.
Grocery tax repeal has been a hot topic at the capitol for years. Even Gov. Brad Little, during his first run for governor, publicly supported the idea. Yet since taking office, he has done little, no pun intended, to advance it. Meanwhile, the Legislature has repeatedly slow‑walked or killed efforts to eliminate the tax, despite strong bipartisan support among voters.
Democrats and Republicans alike appreciate the idea of not paying taxes on their food. That’s why a group of citizens launched their own ballot initiative to repeal the grocery tax altogether.
Support for repeal isn’t limited to voters. The Idaho GOP passed a resolution endorsing an initiative to remove the tax. And Payette County GOP Chair Howard Rynearson has made it his personal mission to push the repeal effort forward. We commend him for stepping up and trying to bring Idahoans real relief.
However, this situation highlights a problem conservatives have faced for years: even when a “good initiative” comes from the right, the initiative process itself is stacked against conservative efforts.
One major challenge is organization. Conservatives, by nature, prefer to be left alone. They don’t often mobilize in the same aggressive, coordinated way the left does. I have no doubt Mr. Rynearson worked tirelessly and likely encountered resistance from some Republicans who prefer to keep the grocery tax in place because of the rebate system.
But the reality remains: the left is willing to spend unlimited money and political capital to advance its priorities. Conservatives rarely match that level of trench‑fighting intensity. And when you throw the media propaganda arm on top of that, our odds are not good.
And now comes the predictable political fallout. Some Republicans will use this failed attempt as a “gotcha” moment to argue against repealing the tax altogether.
They’ll claim, “See? If it were really popular, it would have made the ballot.”
Nothing could be further from the truth. The failure had nothing to do with popularity. But you can be certain lawmakers will now point to this outcome as an excuse to avoid eliminating the grocery tax for years to come.
Is that the kind of conservative leadership Idahoans have asked for? We don’t think so.
Editor’s Note: This article originally appeared on HonorIdaho.com, and is republished here with the author’s permission.
