COEUR d’ALENE — When hundreds gather Saturday night at The Resort for the Kootenai County Republican Central Committee’s biggest bash of the year, the Lincoln Day dinner, some elected precinct committeemen won’t be there.

The central committee stands divided on the keynote speaker, former Rep. Matt Gaetz, a Florida Republican who has faced allegations of sexual misconduct and illegal drug use. 

While some local Republicans welcome Gaetz’s presence, others say that featuring him at the Lincoln Day dinner goes against their values. 

“Lincoln Day dinners are meant to reflect the values of the party of Lincoln, which, in our opinion, include personal integrity and the protection of minors,” said Sandy Patano, a co-founder of North Idaho Republicans and former vice chair of the Idaho Republican Party. “I think paying a speaker’s fee under these circumstances sends a message that’s inconsistent with those values.” 

In December 2024, the House Ethics Committee released a report outlining “substantial evidence” that Gaetz regularly paid women for engaging in sexual activity with him from at least 2017 to 2020 and that he had sex with a 17-year-old girl, who was paid, during his first term in the House.   

Gaetz allegedly used or possessed illegal drugs, including cocaine and Ecstasy, between 2017 and 2019. He allegedly accepted gifts of transportation and lodging in excess of permissible amounts, according to the report, as part of a 2018 trip he took to the Bahamas, where he had sex with women whom he paid.   

The report said Gaetz also obstructed the committee’s investigation. 

In a phone call with The Press on Wednesday, Gaetz said the report is based on allegations that the Department of Justice “found not credible.” 

“I’ve never been accused in any court of law of anything improper and if those false allegations concern some folks, those might be the type of folks who weren’t really there for President Trump when people made false allegations against him,” he said. 

KCRCC Chair Brent Regan said he “didn’t have a good reason” to read the report, but he’s aware of “some of the allegations.”   

“In this country, you’re innocent until proven guilty,” he told The Press last week. “There isn’t a conservative out there who hasn’t had charges like this brought against him at some point.”  

Joshua Dahlstrom, who represents precinct 404 on the central committee, is one of several precinct committeemen who are skipping this year’s Lincoln Day event because of Gaetz’s presence.  

Dahlstrom’s reasons are both political and personal. 

“I am not going to let my 17-year-old daughter see me standing in support of a person who is supposed to be a role model to her making these kinds of decisions,” he said.  

In 2025, Lake City High School student Xanaia Dahlstrom delivered a speech about the golden age of America to an audience of more than 500 people, including local elected officials and other prominent community members. The speech earned her a scholarship. 

“It was an incredible experience,” she said. “It gave me an opportunity for me to share some of my beliefs and to help get an opinion from one of the youths of America to some of the adults in America.”   

When she received an invitation to participate in the contest again this year, she was excited. Then she researched the keynote speaker.

“I have looked at the facts that are available to the public and based on the fact that the victim as described in the investigative report is the same age as me, that is not something I can feel safe participating in as a 17-year-old female,” she said. “I don’t want to be seen endorsing something that could cause so much harm to someone in our community.”  

No Lincoln Day is without controversy, Regan said. He pointed to the 2023 event, where the appearance of former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene drew close to 100 protesters.   

“Everybody complains about everyone,” he said.   

Regan said the central committee used “standard procedures” to choose the speaker.   

Dahlstrom said Beverly Guenette, who leads the Lincoln Day planning subcommittee, told the body last August that Gaetz would appear as the keynote speaker. The full central committee never voted on the matter, Dahlstrom said.  

Guenette did not respond to multiple requests for comment. 

The central committee paid $30,000 to Premiere Speakers Bureau, which includes Gaetz on its roster of speakers, according to public records. 

The bureau's website says "Gaetz is a firebrand conservative who served in Congress from 2017-2024. Matt defended President Trump in three impeachments on the House Judiciary Committee. He brings key national security perspectives as a four-term member of the House Armed Services Committee."

It goes on to state that "Gaetz uses humor and sharp wit to entertain and inform audiences with stories from the front-lines of the Trump political movement. Matt Gaetz remains a close friend and advisor to President Trump and brings key insights into how the Trump Administration will invigorate American exceptionalism."

In November, precinct 405 committeeman Marc Stewart introduced a motion to amend the agenda and add an item allowing the committee to vote to reconsider the keynote speaker.   

Attendees said the motion failed, and the central committee never took up the matter.   

“We weren’t even allowed to have a conversation for the body to vote,” Dahlstrom said. “It was shut down.” 

Tony Wisniewski, who represents precinct 519, always attends the dinner. This year is no different.  

“The Lincoln Day event is the primary fundraiser for the central committee, and I look forward to supporting their fundraising activities,” he said.   

He said he doesn’t have time to read up on the allegations against Gaetz and wouldn’t do so unless serious action occurred, such as the filing of criminal charges.

“Contrary to the way justice was administered in the Middle Ages and the Enlightenment period, our government is founded on the principle of due process and innocent until proven guilty,” he said. “I would hope that, if I were under that same set of circumstances, I would be considered innocent until proven guilty and I think any American citizen would enjoy that same right.”  

Dan Sheckler, who represents precinct 418, said he’s not attending the Lincoln Day dinner this year and instead plans to spend the weekend skiing with his family at Schweitzer.   

“Attendance at Lincoln Day is not necessarily an endorsement of any person,” he said. “Matt Gaetz is presumed innocent and Chairman Regan and his followers have a constitutional right to freely associate with him. I choose not to.”   

Sheckler said he enjoyed last year’s event, where Sean Spicer was an “engaging and dynamic speaker.”   

“Party leadership has a responsibility to exercise sound judgment and to avoid unnecessary controversy that fails to advance our core mission,” he said. “This year’s attention on Mr. Gaetz is an unfortunate distraction from other quality speakers, including Commissioner Bruce Mattare and Sen. Jim Risch.” 

Even amid the opposition from some local Republicans, Gaetz said he’s excited to visit Idaho for the first time. 

“I think Idaho is a wonderful place,” he said. “It’s a very red state and our hope is that Idaho produces fighters — not just people who go fill a seat, but people who take a stand.” 

He said he believes Kootenai County’s Lincoln Day event will “position Idaho well to be at the tip of the spear” heading into the midterm elections.  

“The midterms are going to be challenging, but they’re winnable,” he said. “Republicans in every corner of the country need to be enthusiastically supporting our candidates and the Trump agenda. I’m going to be firing up Idaho conservatives about the golden age of America.” 

For his part, Dahlstrom said he doesn’t judge Gaetz, but he had to make the decision that was best for his family and the neighbors who make up his precinct.  

“I would love to be at Lincoln Day,” he said. “I think it intends to represent something wonderful. I do not think it is aligned with what my precinct wants from the central committee.” 

    Sandy Patano
  

    Regan
  

    Dahlstrom
  

    Sheckler