I want to start out by saying that this voter’s guide is just that - a guide.
Nothing I say or do not say should be taken as gospel and nothing says your vote must be the same as my vote. I put this out there because it’s a way to help others who aren’t hopeless political nerds without a life.
I spend a lot of time researching and reading to come up with these suggestions and present them to you with the belief that these are the best options we have.
My purpose in writing this is so that you can have the resources and knowledge you need to make an informed vote based on Biblical and Constitutional principles.
If we disagree on one point or another, that is simply because we are human. And humans make errors.
It should not drive a wedge between friends or cause relations to become strained. Instead, it should motivate us to learn, study, and become better people. People who have all the facts, not just the facts we like.
People who love our fellow flawed humans so much that we treat them like we would want to be treated. People that cling to Biblical principles no matter what.
If we focus on unchanging principles instead of ever-changing people, we will stay on the right track.
Now, before we get started, you should not be casting a vote unless you understand what is the purpose and proper role of government.
Voting is a duty and a responsibility and it should not be done unless you understand what you’re voting for and why.
So before we get to the voter’s guide, please check out
this article. You’ll thank me later.
Quick Picks:
(Picks marked in
BLUE. Scroll down for Detailed Explanations of my picks)
U.S. Representative District 1
-Russ Fulcher
-Alex Gallegos
-Nick Henderson
-David Leroy
-State Rep. Luke Malek
-State Rep. Christy Perry
-Michael Snyder
Governor
-Tommy Ahlquist
-Harley Brown
-Dalton Cannady
-Rep. Raul Labrador
-Lt. Gov. Brad Little
-Lisa Marie
-Steve Pankey
Lieutenant Governor
-Rebecca Arnold
-State Senator Marv Hagedorn
-Janice McGeachin
-State Senator Bob Nonini
-State Rep. Kelley Packer
-Former Idaho Rep. Party Chairman Steve Yates
State Attorney General
-Lawrence Wasden
Secretary of State
-Lawrence Denney
State Controller
-Brandon Woolf
State Treasurer
-Julie Ellsworth
-Vicky McIntyre
-Tom Kealey
Superintendent of Public Instruction
-Sherri Ybarra
-Jeff Dillon
State Senator District 1
-Danielle Ahrens
-Jim Woodward
-Scott Herndon
State Representative District 1 Position A
-Heather Scott
-Mike Boeck
State Representative District 1 Position B
-Sage Dixon
State Senator District 7
-Carl Crabtree
State Representative District 7 Position A
-Priscilla Giddings
-Ryan A. Lawrence
-Shannon McMillan
State Representative District 7 Position B
-Paul Shepherd
-Phil Hart
County Commissioner District 1
-Steven Bradshaw
-Glen Bailey
-G. Bruce Hollett
County Commissioner District 3
-Dan McDonald
-Carol Kunzeman
County Clerk
-Michael Rosedale
County Treasurer
-Cheryl Piehl
County Assessor
-Richard Miller
-Dennis Engelhardt
-Donna Gow
Detailed Explanations:
U.S. Representative District 1
-Russ Fulcher: I’ve personally met and spoke with Mr. Fulcher several times. I’ve also heard him speak at several events and am very impressed with his record, his passion, and his commitment. I voted for him when he ran for governor last time. And now I will be voting for him for Congress. He firmly believes the right things, acts on those beliefs, and he has the experience and ability to be effective in Congress.
-Alex Gallegos: His website says he’s running to “participate in the very essence of our great nation – democracy.” A lot of his rhetoric seem pretty solid, however, the fact that he believes that democracy is the essence of America (which is a republic…) is a bit disconcerting. Not to mention the fact that his website has no listing of the specific issues he’ll be focussing on.
-Nick Henderson: While his conservative stances are impressive on most issues, Henderson’s website makes no mention of the issue of life. A gross oversight. We do not need any more politicians in Washington that are not vocal about their opposition to the murder of unborn children. Henderson is also a staunch advocate for legalizing marijuana. A
very bad idea.
-David Leroy: I’ve personally spoke with Mr. Leroy about his positions and was impressed. He has a long record having been in public office off and on since 1978. He is staunchly pro-life and pro-2nd Amendment. He appears to understand the proper role of government. He has a ton of connections in Washington, knows people, and understands how the system works. You can only vote for one person in an election though. It was a hard choice, however Leroy was just barely edged out by Russ Fulcher.
-State Rep. Luke Malek: Malek talks a good game. However, actions speak louder than words. He was instrumental in bringing the disastrous ObamaCare insurance exchange to Idaho instead of fighting for the free market. A critical error of judgement that in my eyes, disqualifies him in this race.
-State Rep. Christy Perry: The current occupant of the White House tells an interesting narrative on the nation’s feelings toward morality being a qualification for public service. However, I stand with the Founding Fathers on this one.
John Adams said, “Republican governments could be supported only by pure Religion or Austere Morals. Public virtue cannot exist in a Nation without private Virtue, and public Virtue is the only Foundation of Republics.”
In 2016, Perry had an extramarital affair with fellow lawmaker Sen. Jim Guthrie. After the scandal was revealed, Perry, in a statement, cited a “profound crisis in my life” in 2014 during which she “turned to a friend in the Legislature and ultimately made a terrible mistake for which I am truly sorry for.” Her husband filed for divorce in 2016 however it appears the couple reconciled thereafter.
I’m glad to see that Perry appears to have done the right thing in reconciling with her husband. And I hate to dredge of painful things like this from the past. However, when we have so many choices for this office, choosing someone with a high degree of moral character is the best thing to do.
-Michael Snyder: Every once and awhile, you just get one of those candidates. Michael Snyder is just one of those candidates. He believes passionately most of the right stuff, and I’d agree with him on a lot of things. However, he is just one of those candidates. What do I mean by that? Well, I’m not making a prediction, however I believe that he is unelectable. His views regarding the globalist conspiracy plot to subjugate America, his duck-and-cover prepper attitude are off-putting to the majority of the country. If I’m wrong and he was to be elected, then I believe he would be unable to accomplish much of anything in DC. His mentality and attitude alienate those around him. It’s not enough for a candidate to believe the right things, they also must be effective at the job we’re hiring them to do. And Snyder is definitely not.
Governor
-Rep. Raul Labrador: Rep. Labrador is the obvious choice in this race. He has a long record in Washington D.C. of being pro-life, pro-2nd Amendment, and pro-limited government. I wholeheartedly throw my support behind Rep. Labrador.
-Tommy Ahlquist: Several individuals that I respect have voiced concern regarding Ahlquist. These concerns are backed up by his own actions. Ahlquist has donated thousands of dollars to extremely liberal democrats. There is also no evidence that I can find that he was at all associated with the Republican Party until the 2016 election. Any person who would give money and help a candidate who was blatantly anti-life and pro-Planned Parenthood is not the kind of leader Idaho needs.
-Harley Brown: Mr. Brown is
not a serious candidate.
-Dalton Cannady: Couldn’t find any info on this candidate.
-Lt. Gov. Brad Little: Little has a long record here in Idaho. And it’s not great. Serving under Governor Butch Otter, Little has been little more than a ‘yes-man’ for Otter’s less than conservative agenda. Little did little to nothing to oppose the introduction of the ObamaCare exchange into Idaho. He opposed and stopped a Constitutional amendment that would have protected traditional marriage. Despite his long record, there is little to recommend him for governor.
-Lisa Marie: Not a serious candidate.
-Steve Pankey: Not to be outdone by the race for U.S. Representative, the Governor’s race decided it needed one of those candidates - Steve Pankey. Regardless of your opinion on the issue, mentioning the Bohemian Grove in your biography on your website is not a good way to garner credibility. On his website, Pankey asks whether the media may indeed have no conscience and whether they should be compared to criminals. All of this and more combines to show him to be a non-contender in this race.
Lieutenant Governor
-Former Idaho Rep. Party Chairman Steve Yates: There’s actually several candidates in this race that are possibilities in my book. But again, you can only vote once! So my vote will go to Yates. He is a solid candidate who believes in the core values that I’m looking for in a candidate. Plus he has years of experience in public service and has been in many different leadership positions.
-Janice McGeachin: McGeachin is a strong conservative and believes staunchly in Life, Liberty, and limited government. However, it appears that Steve Yates’ experience lend him the slight edge in this race.
-State Senator Marv Hagedorn: Despite his decent record, Hagedorn has taken some positions here and there that I find concerning. Not the least of which was the advocating of a larger tax hike. He stated that though he may not want to do it, he had to do it.
-Rebecca Arnold: Arnold has an interesting history. She’s served on the Ada County Highway District and ran unsuccessfully for the 4th Judicial District. During that race, the citizens of the tiny town of Stanley, Idaho (population 68) banded together to oppose her, even though they weren’t even in her district. The reason was Arnold had sued the little town 4 times, to the tune of tens of thousands of dollars. A lot of the info I found on the candidate was not positive regarding her dealings with other people. I also can’t find any info on her positions in this Lt. Gov. race.
-State Senator Bob Nonini: Nonini has been attempting to ride his conservative credentials into office. However, after being very opposed to Shawn Keough (the liberal “Republican” state senator from Dist. 1) in 2014, Nonini flip-flopped to support her wholeheartedly in 2016. When asked about why he opposed Keough in 2014, Nonini said, “It was a heck of a mistake on my part, because they were very nice people.” Keough has an undeniably bad record and for Nonini to oppose her and then turn around to support her (despite the fact that Keough didn’t change at all in the interim, in fact she arguably became less conservative!) demonstrates that he’s operating on political expediency rather than on principle.
-State Rep. Kelley Packer: In a way it’s nice when politicians run for other offices because they have a record. However, sadly for Packer, that record is rather lackluster. Idaho Freedom Foundation and the American Conservative Union have consistently rated her in the mid-60s to low-50s. She voted in favor of the ObamaCare exchange in Idaho and has a lot of other votes that do a lot to undermine her claim to conservatism.
State Attorney General
-Lawrence Wasden - unopposed
Secretary of State
-Lawrence Denney - unopposed
State Controller
-Brandon Woolf - unopposed
State Treasurer
-Vicky McIntyre
-Tom Kealey: The State Treasurer race is a tough one. It’s unlike most other races in that everyone basically runs on the same platform of “fiscal conservatism”. And it’s not like you can look at their checkbook to see if that claim is true. The determination on this race comes down to past actions and the candidate’s character. I’ve also consulted several people that I trust on the matter who know their stuff. After all that consideration, my vote will go to Kealey.
-Julie Ellsworth
Superintendent of Public Instruction
-Sherri Ybarra: All the research I’ve done seems to indicate that Ybarra has done a good job during her last 4 year term. She’s got my vote.
-Jeff Dillon: Nothing that I can find on Dillon really differentiates him from Ybarra. Since Ybarra already has the experience, she’s my pick.
State Senator District 1
-Danielle Ahrens: Full disclosure - I’ve been involved in helping with the Ahrens’ campaign. This is because I’ve done my research and it is critical that we get a strong conservative in this seat! So I’m doing all I can to make sure that happens by backing Danielle Ahrens. She is 100% pro-life, a 2nd Amendment advocate, she studies and understands the Constitution, and she knows what limited government really means.
-Jim Woodward: Woodward is the handpicked successor to the Shawn Keough dynasty. He is in no way a conservative. His website does not mention the issue of life/abortion. When questioned on this, he basically said he doesn’t want to ruffle any feathers and thinks it’s not an issue he needs to address. Apparently he doesn’t understand the purpose of government. He is also very non-committal regarding the 2nd Amendment. When this concern was raised, his response was basically to say that he’d been hunting. Shawn Keough was not a good legislator and therefore her endorsement of Woodward is a clear indication that he is not the man for this job.
-Scott Herndon: Herndon is a fringe candidate who doesn’t really have a shot at winning as far as I can tell. He lines up pretty well on most issues however his association with the “Abolish Abortion” crowd and his belief that both the doctors that perform and the women who have abortions should be sentenced to death, alienate a lot of people.
State Representative District 1 Position A
-Heather Scott: Scott has done a great job in Boise. No one can question her conservative credentials or the fact that “politics as usual” has a hard time existing with her around. Something I for one, really like.
-Mike Boeck: Also backed by the ever-present Shawn Keough, Boeck is a mirror image of Woodward. His website mentions nothing regarding the issue of life/abortion nor the 2nd Amendment. Kate McAlister who previously ran as a Democrat for the 1A position also appears to be supporting Boeck. (Side note: When researching this, I came across archived events from 2016 on Mike Boeck’s website that are advertising Kate McAlister meet and greets. Not exactly sure what to make of that, but it seems that there might be a possibility that perhaps there’s a bit more than just tacit support coming from McAlister for Boeck’s campaign..? Hard to say but something to think about.)
State Representative District 1 Position B
-Sage Dixon: unopposed (definitely one of the good guys! So glad he’s going back for another term!)
State Senator District 7
-Carl Crabtree: unopposed
State Representative District 7 Position A
-Priscilla Giddings: When Giddings first ran in 2016, she was running against then-incumbent Shannon McMillan. I stated at the time that it was nice to have a choice between 2 good candidates! I voted for McMillan last time due to her experience level. However, after 2 years, Giddings has proven her effectiveness and I strongly support her in this election.
-Ryan A. Lawrence: Lawrence appears to hold to a lot of good principles and stances, yet he has very limited leadership experience and very little real world experience. And his campaign website had typos. And he wants to overturn Roe v. Wade (a noble aspiration) however that’s out of reach for a State Rep. Kind of important details.
-Shannon McMillan: See above.
State Representative District 7 Position B
-Paul Shepherd: Shepherd has been a decent legislator. There are some votes I don’t fully agree with him on, but overall he’s been pretty good.
-Phil Hart: Hart has a long and unfortunate history of being in the spotlight for not so great reasons. Not quite sure why he’s running again.
County Commissioner District 1
-Steven Bradshaw: It’s great to see a pastor getting involved in local politics. Mr. Bradshaw has a good reputation and has a good worldview from what I can tell.
-Glen Bailey
-G. Bruce Hollett: No information on this candidate.
County Commissioner District 3
-Dan McDonald: I know Mr. McDonald personally and have been very pleased with his service as commissioner. He understands the need to limit government and has been active to see that it stays in its proper role.
-Carol Kunzeman
County Clerk
-Michael Rosedale: unopposed
County Treasurer
-Cheryl Piehl: unopposed
County Assessor
-Richard Miller: Full disclosure - I did work with Mr. Miller for a time on his campaign. That decision came after interviewing him thoroughly to insure that he was indeed the best man for the job. Miller has owned his own business for quite some time and has a good handle on the proper role of government as well as the proper role of the county assessor. His experience in the construction industry gives him the experience and knowledge needed to make a good county assessor. In addition, I believe him to be an honest man of integrity.
-Dennis Engelhardt
-Donna Gow
Voter Resources
Bonner County Voter Registration & Polling Places
Idaho Votes. Check the Idaho Secretary of State's official voting info site for details on voter registration and how to vote, at
IdahoVotes.gov.
- Check to see you're registered:
Am I Registered?
- Not registered? Do it right now:
Register Online
- Find where you vote on Election Day:
Where Do I Vote?
Polling locations. View the compiled list of Bonner County
2018 precincts and polling locations.
Precinct map. See color-coded location of voting precincts in Bonner County on the enlargeable
2018 Voter Precinct Map.
Bonner County Elections. Click for the Bonner County Clerk's
County Elections page.
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