Todd Achilles is facing an uphill battle to unseat U.S. Sen. Jim Risch, an entrenched figure in Congress and popular in Idaho. 

Yet, Achilles believes Idahoans are ready for change, and by uniting them, he can win. 

“This campaign is really about bringing Idaho together,” he said in a recent interview with The Press. “Everyone is sick of the division. We know we’ve got hard problems to solve and we can do that collectively. We can bring everybody together to solve those. That's really what we’re trying to do.” 

Achilles resigned from his House seat representing District 16, declared he was running as an independent, and launched a campaign last year to take on Risch, a seat he has held for 16 years. 

He’s visited all 44 counties and attended more than 70 town halls attended by people wearing “red hats, trucker hats and cowboy hats.” 

Most are not delighted with the country’s direction, Achilles said. 

“We're having great conversations about how we get the country back on track,” he said.  

They tell him Congress isn't working as it should and the economy is rigged against the middle class. 

“Everybody agrees on those two issues,” Achilles said. “The question now is, how do you solve it?”

He said there is growing support for independent candidates and a recent poll found about 45% of adults in the U.S. are registered as independents. He said he considers himself “straight down the middle.” 

Achilles believes term limits, even age limits, for Congress, could help. 

“I won’t serve any more than two terms,” he said. 

The Boise man said there are three other independent candidates for Congress, all military veterans, he is in contact with: Dan Osborn in Nebraska, Brian Bengs in South Dakota and Ty Pinkins in Mississippi. 

“If we get two more independents in the Senate, we can deny a majority to either party,” he said. “When we do that, the independents become the fulcrum in the chamber. Two more independents in the building and you can force the change that has to happen.” 

He said that the country’s debt approaching $40 trillion indicates it is not working for families. 

Housing and health care are driving an affordability crisis but until Congress is “functioning again,” it’s a problem here to stay, Achilles said.

He said he has talked to more and more people who are not getting by, even with two incomes, and are being forced to dip into the “social safety net."

“Folks are nervous,” he said. 

Achilles said closing corporate loopholes would help, as would ending “corporate socialism,” which benefits big business at the expense of taxpayers.

“We need to crack down on that because that’s undermining the health of the economy,” he said. 

Achilles grew up on a family farm in Oregon. He served in the Army from 1992 to 1995 as a tank commander and armor officer, with two deployments to the Persian Gulf. The Army, he said, taught him teamwork, leadership and grit. 

He worked for more than two decades in the tech sector, including stints with T-Mobile and Hewlett-Packard. Today, he teaches public policy and is the co-founder and president of Veterans for Idaho Voters, “a coalition of military veterans dedicated to advocating for fair elections, citizens initiatives, civil politics and sensible policies.” 

To defeat Risch in November, he said he must work hard, keep introducing himself to people across the state and listen to their concerns. 

“That’s why we’re constantly on the road,” Achilles said. 

He said division between parties is not how Idahoans want to live. Rather, they want bipartisan solutions. 

"At the end of the day, Idahoans don’t want to be mad at each other,” he said. “We don’t like the partisan divide. We’re a center-right state. Always have been, always will be.”