Republican congressional candidates lay out platforms in effort to unseat incumbents

BOISE — Idaho’s statewide Republican primary candidates assembled at the Boise High School auditorium Tuesday evening to discuss their bids to unseat multi-term candidates vying for election in the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate.

U.S. SENATE

Sen. Jim Risch is the lone Idaho senator up for election this year. Risch is seeking reelection to a fourth six-year term after first assuming his position in the Senate in 2009.

This year, he faces three Republican challengers. Though absent from the event, Risch provided a video statement and said he was looking to continue “fighting for conservative values” in Washington, D.C.

Joe Evans

Joe Evans said a central reason for his run is the cost of living in Idaho. His website states expenses have risen as a result of bad energy policy and bureaucracy and stresses Idahoans are “overburdened” by taxes as a result of unrestrained federal spending.

Evans also highlighted his background as a U.S. Army veteran, underscoring the experience taught him how to be accountable and be “good stewards of the resources” made available to them.

”I believe in a limited constitutional government,” Evans said. “Washington, D.C., has been too involved in the affairs of Idaho for way too long.”

Denny LaVé

Denny LaVé is a resident of Worley and currently works in construction management for the Post Falls-based Precision Precast Erectors. Referring to his professional background, his campaign website states: “Send a builder. Not a career politician.”

During his travels across the state, LaVé said the most common concerns he heard voiced by constituents were the “toxic rhetoric in D.C.” and the “crushing” cost of health care.

LaVé said he is also seeking to prioritize an exit from “foreign entanglements,” and his website states a desire to shift away from “nation-building missions overseas.” Without naming the current conflict in Iran explicitly, he also highlighted Congress needed to “reclaim its war power authority” and maintain adherence to the U.S. Constitution.

Josh Roy

Josh Roy is a resident of Lewiston, where he works as an assistant superintendent of paperboard manufacturer Clearwater Paper. Roy said a central aim of his campaign is to “fight social media and ‘wokeness’ in our communities and our schools.”

Referring to his extended career in manufacturing, Roy said he is seeking to address bureaucratic hurdles impacting domestic manufacturing, agriculture and energy production.

Roy highlighted the Environmental Protection Agency — which set standards around water, air quality and emissions, among other responsibilities — and claimed inflation in public utilities and car prices could be attributed to EPA regulation.

“These are issues affecting Idahoans every single day,” Roy said. “These agencies and others like them are hollowing out middle-class America.”

U.S. HOUSE DISTRICT 1

Both of Idaho’s representatives are up for election this year. U.S. Rep. Russ Fulcher is seeking reelection for a fifth term serving Idaho’s first congressional district, which encompasses the western half of the state from the panhandle in the north to the Nevada border in the south.

In a video statement, Fulcher touted Idaho’s anti-abortion and pro-Second Amendment stances and reassured the state would not be compromising on its principles.

Andy Briner

Andy Briner, a Melba resident, presently works in sales and design at Western Idaho Cabinets. Briner said the overarching goal of his campaign is to ensure the U.S. Constitution is adhered to without compromise.

Briner opened his remarks with the feeling that the current administration was not operating the way he expected, saying that promises to cut federal spending and release the Epstein files were not being met. In issues further detailed on his website, Briner is also seeking to place limitations on Congress by banning congressional stock trading and setting term limits.

“I’m running to bring all that to hold Donald Trump accountable the promises he made, the promises he made to all of us,” Briner said.

Joe Morrison

Joe Morrison said his reasons for running center around foreign wars, foreign aid and corporate bailouts. Across these three issues, Morrison said the result is taxpayer money either being spent domestically or sent abroad to places that aren’t helping Americans.

Morrison said this money would be better spent on modernizing America’s infrastructure and investing in nuclear energy. A veteran himself, Morrison said he is also of the belief that America’s service members can do better work at home than abroad.

“I think that we could bring our young men and women back here to defend the home front, to have them work ... in our communities, not ... 6,000 miles away in somebody else’s community, creating destabilization,” Morrison said.

U.S. HOUSE DISTRICT 2

U.S. Rep. Mike Simpson is seeking a 15th term to represent Idaho’s second congressional district, which stretches from the Salmon-Challis National Forest in the north to the Utah border in the south. Simpson has served as representative for the district since 1999. He was not in attendance for Tuesday’s forum.

Brian Keene

Brian Keene is a Twin Falls resident, veteran and teacher. Keene said his core issues are bringing greater levels of accountability across all levels of government and establishing a balanced budget. With national debt levels approaching $40 trillion, Keene said a balanced budget amendment, a measure that has been advocated for by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, could play a role in addressing both of his key issues.

“I want accountability to be on the politicians, not on the taxpayers,” Keene said.

Perry Shumway

Perry Shumway presented his campaign as being centered around fiscal responsibility. Shumway noted the national debt has risen from around $5 trillion when Simpson was first elected in 1998 to $39 trillion today and highlighted a long list of legislation supported by Simpson contributing to this increase, including legislation to raise the debt ceiling and various tax cut legislation that contributed to the federal deficit.

“If I am elected to this position, I will never, ever vote for anything that increases the national debt,” Shumway said.