Just Released 2024 Vote Data – Democrats Take Control of Idaho House
Analysis Confirms 5 Moderate Republicans Shift to Democratic to Take Chamber 37 D to 33 R
WASHINGTON, DC – The Institute for Legislative Analysis has just released the vote data and analyses covering the 2024 session of the Idaho Legislature. The study, encompassing over 5,200 votes, found philosophically Democratic lawmakers have now taken control of the House of Representatives (37 Democrats to 33 Republicans) due to 5 moderate Republicans shifting their philosophies to the Democratic side. Previously, the political make-up of the House was 38 Republicans to 32 Democrats in 2023. In the Senate, Democrats flipped one moderate Republican to further solidify their control (22 Democrats to 13 Republicans) compared to 2023 (21 Democrats to 14 Republicans).
Shifts in the philosophical makeup of legislatures can sometimes be explained by actions of leadership. A review of Speaker Mike Moyle’s record shows his overall political philosophy has remained unchanged since the last analysis (64.52% in 2024 vs. 64.22% in 2023). However, an examination of the policy category data reveals Moyle has become more progressive on economic issues. Moyle’s tax and fiscal record dropped to 39.13% – representing a Democratic economic philosophy – but the drop in that category was offset by Moyle’s more conservative positions in the healthcare and local and national security categories.
A review of the data on Senate President Pro Tempore Chuck Winder shows he now holds a solid Democratic philosophy due his further movement to the left (37.97% in 2024 vs. 43.75% in 2023). Additionally, he holds a very progressive tax and fiscal record of 22.74%. It is worth noting that the records of both Moyle and Winder significantly trail the conservative levels the ILA has reported for leaders of other Republican controlled states such as Florida, Tennessee and Ohio.
“Typically, our state legislative analyses find “Republicans” have differing views on policies – not completely different political philosophies like in Idaho” said Ryan McGowan, CEO of the Institute for Legislative Analysis. “It appears Democratic operatives have cracked the code on how to confuse voters and take control of a legislature in a predominately Republican state. It will be interesting to see if Republicans are willing to start pulling this same playbook in Democratic controlled states and run as Democrats to seize control.”
The Institute for Legislative Analysis is a national public policy research organization which also serves as a datahub and scorecard platform available for usage by other groups. For inquires, please contact info@limitedgov.org.
