(Honor Idaho founder Greg Pruett, June 17, 2026)
The Idaho Republican Party has some huge decisions to make this weekend at the Idaho GOP summer convention.
At the top of the list is choosing who will lead the party for the next two years. The establishment previously had Tom Luna at the helm, and in recent years Dorothy Moon has taken the reins. This time around, former state lawmaker Steven Thayn is looking to consolidate the establishment vote, while Moon and Mark Fuller will be fighting for the conservative wing of the party.
No matter who wins, the real questions those at the convention must ask themselves are:
- Who actually understands the danger the left and their initiatives pose to Idaho’s conservative values?
- Who is best positioned to ensure the party has the resources to fight the radical left, starting with the abortion initiative?
The second major issue coming to the floor at the summer convention is how the Idaho GOP should nominate its candidates.
I’ve long argued that a caucus system produces the most conservative candidates. Naturally, the establishment hates this idea because they benefit from Democrat crossover voting.
You’ll hear the same tired lines:
“But we’ll alienate voters, and participation will go down.”
There will be a litany of excuses like this at the convention. It’s nonsense. The establishment wants to keep the system exactly as it is because they believe they benefit from uninformed and crossover voters.
As a veteran who used to preach, “Go vote, it’s your duty,” I now hold a different view: not everyone should vote. If you aren’t going to research the candidates or understand the issues, you probably shouldn’t be filling out a ballot.
More importantly, we need to remember something the establishment conveniently ignores: the primary isn’t an election. It’s a party function. Party members are supposed to decide who represents the party in November.
Clearly, the current system isn’t working. Between uninformed voters and Democrats voting in a supposedly closed system, we’re left with two realistic options:
- Move to a caucus system
- Or somehow achieve a miracle-level turnout from voters who already know the primary exists but don’t care enough to participate
And let’s be honest: “Campaign harder” isn’t working.
I’m not claiming a caucus is perfect. But it absolutely makes left-wing infiltration harder, and it ensures the people choosing our nominees are far more aligned with Republican values.
The reality is simple: we cannot keep doing what other states have done and expect a different result. If we want to stop the radical left, we have to change the game.
That fight starts with choosing the next GOP chair and deciding what path the party will take to select its nominees.
Note: This article first appeared on HonorIdaho.com, and is republished here by permission.