Idaho Secretary of State Phil McGrane said some local elections are being influenced by out-of-state money. 

“Yes and no,” he said. “It kind of varies.” 

During a recent stop at The Press, McGrane said the political landscape in Idaho is changing, and a reason for that is growth. 

“People come from other states, along with that bringing their money and resources,” McGrane said. “That seems to be drawing more attention from national groups. We’re seeing more national groups weigh in on elections and policy.” 

There are also more out-of-state political action committees and lobbyists involved in Idaho races. 

“We're got some out-of-state groups spending way more money than we’re used to,” he said. “We're seeing way more money spent on Idaho politics than we’ve ever seen before.” 

McGrane said in the last election cycle in Idaho, more than $17 million was spent on legislative races. Of that, $7.6 million was raised by candidates, while the remainder came from PACs, most in Idaho. 

About $3 million was spent on attack ads, of which the majority came from out-of-state organizations. 

McGrane said the focus is turning to the primary election, less than six months away. Gov. Brad Little will be seeking reelection, as will Idaho Sen. Jim Risch. 

He expects it to be “very active.”

“On the national stage, that is well in focus and we’re certainly going to feel that,” he said. 

McGrane was in Kootenai County to watch the canvassing of votes. He said the voting tallies were accurate and there is strong voter confidence in the integrity of Idaho elections. He said the Kootenai County Elections Office does a great job. 

“Idaho is in a really good place,” he said. 

But McGrane is dealing with a situation in Elmore County, where the Clerk’s Office notified the Idaho Secretary of State’s Office of a potential discrepancy between the number of ballots cast and the number of voters who voted in the Nov. 4 Elmore County Consolidated Election.  
 

It was determined that about 300 ballots cast were not tallied or included in the final results, said a press release from McGrane’s office. 

“Needless to say, this situation is very concerning,” McGrane said. “We are taking this matter seriously and will pursue every available path to ensure the will of the voters is accurately reflected in the results. Every vote matters, and we are committed to the accuracy and integrity of Idaho’s elections.” 

McGrane is proud of voteidaho.gov, which he said his office put a “ton of energy” into making it a valuable tool.

“We're trying to get more information out to voters to make it easier to make informed choices,” he said.

He said overall, most elections statewide were fairly low-key affairs, which he attributed to Republicans being “broadly in control.”

“There seems to be a more sense of contentment,” he said.

McGrane said Idaho remains a red state and is “getting redder.”

In the past three years, he said the percentage of registered Republicans in Idaho has climbed to 62% from 57%.

“That’s not huge, but a pretty healthy move,” he said.

McGrane said Idaho should expect another wave of retiring Californians to be headed its way. Kootenai County will likely receive many of them.

“It's going to be political refugees moving to more conservative areas,” he said. “Certainly, up here is a hot bed for a lot of that.”

He said those coming from California are not “hippies.”

“It is your Ronald Regan Republicans or your very conservative folks,” he said. “The state has changed, it’s not how they remember it, and they are gravitating very quickly to Idaho.”

“We're seeing what we call ‘Voting with your feet.’ People are relocating to find people like them,” McGrane said.