May 21, 2026
Idaho’s GOP is Broken. Here’s How to Fix it.
By: Honor Idaho President Greg Pruett
The conservative movement took a hard hit in the 2026 Idaho primary. The good news is that we can learn from it and rebuild stronger, but it’s going to take time, resources, and real intestinal fortitude.
We start with one of the few bright spots: in the north, Scott Herndon reclaimed his Senate seat from RINO Jim Woodward. In that same district, Jane Sauter defeated RINO gun‑control advocate Rep. Mark Sauter (no relation).
Additionally, Sen. Christy Zito, Rep. Clint Hostetler, and Rep. Kent Marmon were hit with vicious attacks and outright lies, not just from the RINO establishment, but from radical leftists, including self‑described satanists and “witches,” who openly celebrated hardline conservatives losing their races. Thankfully, the three of them survived the onslaught.
The real target this year, though, was clearly the “Gang of 8.” Leftists and the RINO establishment unleashed a torrential downpour of lies and deceit to take out five of the most conservative lawmakers in the state.
They even went so far as to destroy the livelihood of Sen. Glenneda Zuiderveld by mobilizing Big Dairy against her family, mirroring the kind of retaliatory tactics frequently deployed by far-left activists.
In 14 years of day‑to‑day activism in Idaho, I’ve never seen the establishment and the left campaign like this. And if anything, it proves the system is broken. If we want to keep Idaho from becoming Colorado or California, major changes are needed; not someday, but now.
First, the Idaho Republican Party has to mobilize and fight differently. It was obvious from the satanist and witch page, in addition to many other liberal Facebook groups, that crossover voting from radical leftists is massive. In districts like Twin Falls, their goal was to help RINOs take out conservative lawmakers. They organized in the open, and the Idaho Republican Party stood by silently and watched it happen.
The party must speak out and fight back against Democrats who are doing this in large numbers, and for many years, the party has done very little. The “closed primary” clearly isn’t stopping the party from being misrepresented at the ballot box.
In an Op-Ed today, Chairwoman Dorothy Moon said,
“Now it’s time for Idaho Republicans to stand together to defeat the left-wing Democrats who threaten our time-tested values of faith, family, and freedom, as well as their initiative to legalize abortion until birth.”
While we agree that stopping the abortion initiative is a critical fight — one that Honor Idaho will be leading — the real battle with Democrats largely ended on May 19. That’s where they’ve already done the most damage. Idaho has very few true “swing” legislative districts, which means the decisive fight isn’t in November, it’s in the Republican primary, where Democrats have learned to exploit the system and influence outcomes. That’s where conservatives must focus their energy if we want to protect Idaho’s values.
I’ve said for a long time now that there’s a solution, one that the RINOs absolutely hate. Republicans who fear accountability hate it.
But if we want to stop the party and the Capitol from turning purple or blue (and I’d argue we’re already purple), we need to move to a caucus system. A caucus allows for deep vetting and helps the party root out people who don’t belong, including crossovers.
Second, if we want to stop Idaho from becoming a leftist nightmare, we need a serious discussion about ballot initiatives. Idaho is about to decide whether abortion up until birth is acceptable. In Idaho, of all places.
Leftists will keep ramming these initiatives down our throats unless the party and lawmakers finally stand up and end this nightmare. It’s the only way.
In the meantime, while we figure out if the Idaho GOP is going to abolish them, and that seems unlikely in the near future, we have to create the infrastructure to fight them, which is exactly what Honor Idaho is doing.
Third, we need candidates who know how to campaign and fight back. Candidates have to know how to raise money, how to spend it effectively, and staying on-message while dealing with a barrage of lies and distortions.
We must train candidates better and recruit people who understand that the 2028 election begins now. There is no break. Liberal Republicans and the satanist crowd are already planning the demise of the remaining G8, and then they’ll target any Republican they consider “too conservative.”
Fourth, the GOP must put its metaphorical foot on the throats of our political enemies. GOP leaders are too scared, or too liberal, to ram the most conservative legislation in the country down the throats of Democrats and the elite class in this state.
There is zero excuse for this. From guns to immigration reform, we should be doing all of it, as aggressively as possible, every single session.
“But Greg, there just isn’t the will to do the hard bills in the Capitol.”
If that’s true, and I believe it is, what does that say about the Idaho Republican Party? What does it say about how they completely misunderstand the fight we’re in? And how does that failure keep the electorate asleep?
Ask yourself, if the Democrats could openly control our capitol, would there be any mercy for gun rights, babies, or any other value we hold dear? Not a chance. And you only have to look at Virginia as the most recent example of how Democrats will come for you once they have power.
Why is the Idaho Republican Party and our elected Republican officials not doing the same to the Democrats?
Idaho needs a reckoning. And unless conservatives change how we fight, the Gem State Heist will be completed sooner than anyone thinks.
Editor’s Note: This article originally appeared on HonorIdaho.com, and is republished here with the author’s permission.
