BONNERS FERRY — Former Idaho Rep. Todd Achilles visited Bonners Ferry on Oct. 7, as part of his campaign for U.S. Senate in Idaho. During his visit, Achilles hosted a town hall at the county fairgrounds to talk with Boundary County constituents about the issues that matter to them. 

Achilles, an independent, is running against incumbent Republican Jim Risch, who has served as U.S. senator since 2009. Risch was re-elected in 2020 with more than 60% of the vote.  

Before starting his political career, Achilles served in the U.S. Army and spent two decades in the tech sector, working for companies such as T-Mobile and Hewlett Packard.      

Achilles’s told residents that his top concern is on improving the economy for everyday Americans. To fix these problems, he says the U.S. Senate must address corruption. 

“My big focus is on economic issues. I think, overall, we’ve got an affordability crisis. But you can’t address that unless you’ve fixed these reform issues, you clean up the corruption.”   

An independent who has previously been a member of both the Democratic and Republican parties, Achilles has strong views on those in charge of the country.  

“The Dems are as guilty on this as the Republicans are,” Achilles said. “I think some of these economic problems will get fixed when we fix the corruption. I was 19 when I took an oath to support and defend the Constitution. I’m deeply concerned about what’s going on.”    

Achilles said the current senators are not focused on the people of Idaho. 

“They’re great politicians, but they’re legislating for their donors and their corporate sponsors, not for Idahoans,” he said. 

Achilles also spoke about the gap in funding compared to Risch, claiming that only one percent of Risch’s money raised has been from Idahoans. 

“For the last quarter, I raised $175,000 for my campaign, which is more than any competitor has done in at least 10, maybe 12 years,” Achilles said. “Risch, in the first half of 2025, raised over $850,000.”  

Achilles has around 400 people that have signed up to be volunteers. Throughout the next 13 months, he will tour the state because he acknowledges that he is “an unknown outside of Boise.” 

Currently, there are two independent members of the U.S. Senate. The last non-Republican Idaho senator was in 1981.  

The current candidates for U.S. Senate are Republicans Jim Risch and Joe Evans, Democrat David Roth and independents Todd Achilles and Natalie Fleming. The election will be on November 3, 2026.