More than two years ago, Raúl Labrador won the Republican nomination for attorney general, defeating longtime incumbent Lawrence Wasden. The liberal wing of the Idaho GOP, alarmed at the prospect of the conservative champion winning statewide office, joined forces with the Democrats in an attempt to stop him.
Democratic nominee Steve Scanlin, who was likely never meant to strongly oppose Wasden, withdrew in favor of the supposedly independent Tom Arkoosh. Several dozen Republicans of yesteryear broke ranks with the Idaho GOP and endorsed Arkoosh instead, including outgoing Sen. Patti Anne Lodge, former First Lady Lori Otter, former Ada County Sheriff Gary Raney, outgoing Rep. Scott Syme, former Secretary of State Ben Ysursa, and outgoing Sen. Fred Martin. Former Attorney General and Chief Justice Jim Jones, who for some reason still called himself a Republican, had already signed on to Arkoosh’s campaign.
Notice all the “formers” and “outgoings” in that list. The old guard of moderate and establishment Republicans put their reputations on the line to stop Raúl Labrador, and failed. I remember attending a campaign event where Labrador said that it was becoming typical around Halloween for the ghosts of politics past to appear, attempting to scare voters away from supporting him.
Many of the same names who tarnished their reputations by campaigning for a Democrat against our Republican nominee are back, putting their stained reputations on the line once more in favor of Proposition 1. Former Governor Butch Otter stayed silent on the attorney general race in 2022, despite his wife publicly endorsing Arkoosh. However, Otter has been outspoken in his support for the initiative to impose ranked choice voting and a top four jungle primary.
The egregiously misnamed Idahoans for Open Primaries has lately placed Marv Hagedorn front and center in its campaign to overhaul our election systems. Hagedorn served three terms in the House and three more in the Senate before placing third in the race for lieutanent governor in 2018, which was won by Janice McGeachin.
Hagedorn claims that independent voters are barred from participating in partisan primaries. This is false, of course, but it’s the line that Idahoans for Open Primaries has chosen to hammer down the stretch. If independent voters choose to remain unaffiliated, they can still cast ballots in the primary, or take advantage of the Democrats’ open primary. Or they can affiliate as a Republican for that election. Contrary to the implications that Hagedorn and his allies have at times presented, veterans (and active duty military) are not barred from affiliating with the Idaho GOP and voting in the Republican primary if they so choose.
Hagedorn’s active participation in this campaign is especially ironic. On March 2, 2011, US District Judge Lynn Winmill ruled that the Idaho Republican Party was within its rights to close its primary election, restricting participation only to those who chose to affiliate with the Idaho GOP. The following month, House Speaker Lawrence Denney and Senate President Pro Tempore Brent Hill introduced House Bill 351, amending Idaho law to confirm to Judge Winmill’s order.
Most Democrats in the Legislature voted against H351, but most Republicans — including then Rep. Marv Hagedorn — supported it. I can’t say if his position changed, or if he only voted in favor because of the court decision, or if there is some other factor here. I attempted to reach out via email but haven’t heard back; I’ll update this with his statement if I do.
In any case, contrary to the ubiquitous mailers from Idahoans for Open Primaries, Prop 1 does not restore the primary to its pre-2011 status. Rather than returning to true open primaries, in which any voter can request any partisan ballot, Prop 1 would create a jungle primary in which all candidates appear together, and the top four vote-getters would proceed to the general election, which would be decided by ranked choice voting.
Despite the spooky warnings of the ghosts of Republicans past, most Republican officeholders oppose this initiative. Idaho GOP Chairwoman Dorothy Moon opposes it, Gov. Brad Little opposes it, Attorney General Raúl Labrador opposes it, Speaker Mike Moyle opposes it, outgoing Senate Pro Tem Chuck Winder opposes it, megadonor Frank Vandersloot opposes it, Senators Jim Risch and Mike Crapo oppose it, and Congressmen Russ Fulcher and Mike Simpson oppose it.
In fact, according to the Idaho Dispatch, the only currently elected Republicans who outright support Prop 1 are Rep. Greg Lanting and Sen. Linda Hartgen, both from the Magic Valley, and both of whom lost their bids for reelection in landslides. The latter fact might indicate why they are willing to upend a tried and true election system in favor of one that is meant to elect more moderates.
Idaho is poised to have the most conservative Legislature in recent memory starting in January. Vote no on Prop 1 to keep it that way. Don’t be afraid of the ghosts of Republicans past who are trying to frighten you into making a bad decision.
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