The 2025 Idaho GOP Winter Meeting is in the books. I only have a few minutes to write this before heading back for the Winter Gala, so I’ll be brief.
Friday night saw the Executive Board meet as well as the Rules and Resolutions Committee. Last night’s big announcement was that the 2025 Summer Meeting will be held in Pocatello on June 20-21. Dorothy Moon shared a story of taking Charlie Kirk to task for his attacks on Sen. Jim Risch, who has thus far given every indication of fully supporting President Donald Trump’s cabinet picks. Attorney General Raúl Labrador was given a moment to speak, and he lauded the unity that was created by Idaho Republicans’ shared opposition to Proposition 1.
I presented two resolutions on Friday evening, one calling for the Legislature to ban DEI in higher education, ensuring that the recent actions of the State Board of Education are not simply window dressing, as well as one calling to amend Idaho law to prevent primary winners from withdrawing from their races. Both passed on to the full State Central Committee.
Scott Herndon did a tremendous job chairing the Resolutions Committee, getting through all 34 proposals and finishing at exactly 9:00pm, the time that was listed on the schedule. I live-tweeted that meeting, so I wasn’t in Rules, but it sounds like they trimmed down many of the proposals for state party rules. One that did not make it through was a proposal to ban registered lobbyists from serving as party officers. I’m glad it did not go through — it seemed to be short-sighted and liable to bring about unintended consequences.
I ended Friday evening in Attorney General Labrador’s suite where he shared pizza for delegates and guests.
Saturday morning brought the general session — go back and follow my live-tweets here for the play-by-play. Each of the state party officers shared their reports, and Bryan Smith explained how the Bingham County GOP lawsuit was finally resolved. The Hall of Fame Awards were presented as well — these are given to Idaho Republicans that are nominated by their peers as having done outstanding work for the party and the cause of liberty.
- Outstanding Precinct Committeeman: Daniel Crawford of Nez Perce County
- Outstanding Republican Worker: Alexis Scott of Canyon County
- Outstanding Republican Chair: Ed Yeager of Teton County
- Outstanding Republican Legislator: Rep. Heather Scott
- Outstanding Republican Administrator: Canyon County Prosecutor Christopher Boyd
- Most Valuable Person: Ashley Mujagic of Ada County
- Lifetime Achievement Award: Leanne Collier
- Lifetime Achievement Award: Doyle Beck
I felt proud to see some of the people I nominated win awards. Idaho is blessed to have a lot of great conservative Republicans in the trenches!
Brent Regan presented the Rules Committee report, which after last night’s debates had been whittled down to a few minor changes. The full committee adopted the new rules without debate.
Scott Herndon presented the Resolutions Committee report. 21 of the 23 that came to the floor were approved without debate. I pulled 2025-2 for additional debate, while Colton Bennett pulled 2025-11.
2025-2 was a resolution calling for Idaho to return to the system of representation it had prior to 1964 in which each county, no matter the population, is represented by a single senator. The Supreme Court ruled this system unconstitutional that year, leading to our current system of one senator per district.
I have some concerns about this idea, and I wanted a chance to share them. I was the only person debating against the resolution, which ended up passing overwhelmingly, so I joked later to the sponsor that at least I gave her and other supporters the opportunity to explain why this was important to them.
I will do some research on this and come back later this year with a full analysis.
We broke for lunch at noon, and enjoyed multiple pasta choices while listening to Chairwoman Moon and Sen. Risch. The latter was very energetic, sharing his optimism about what Congress could do once Donald Trump was back in office.
We returned to the floor to finish our business, which was Resolution 2025-11, the censure of Hyrum Erickson. Colton Bennett said he strongly disliked how Erickson used his Republican cachet as a spokesman for Proposition 1, but believed he should have a chance to speak in his own defense before being censured. Erickson was not present at the meeting, as far as I know. Bennett moved to postpone the resolution until summer, but Bryan Smith, Brent Regan, and Scott Herndon debated against that, saying that Erickson has been making his case for the past year.
Several delegates spoke in Erickson’s defense, talking about his character and his right to free speech and free expression. In the end, a majority of the committee felt that he had done wrong by not only supporting but promoting a proposition that many believed was designed to weaken or even destroy the influence of the Idaho Republican Party. The resolution passed, and Hyrum Erickson was duly censured.
My favorite part of events like this is getting to see all the great Republicans from throughout the state in person. I’m looking forward to seeing more tonight at the gala, as well as some more in two weeks when I speak at an event in Ammon. (Stay tuned for more information about that.)
It was a cordial and productive event, which reflects the new Republican unity we’ve developed over the past year. As Attorney General Labrador said, how often do you see Dorothy Moon and Trent Clark on the same side, fighting together? As we head into the 2025 legislative session on Monday, I know we won’t always agree, and we are going to have some sharp and even vehement debates about the right policies for the people of Idaho. Yet I hope that this unity will give us room for respectful conversation rather than drawing more battle lines.
Now it’s time to have some fun before heading to the trenches next week. I’ll see you shortly at the gala!
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About Brian Almon
Brian Almon is the Editor of the Gem State Chronicle. He also serves as Chairman of the District 14 Republican Party and is a trustee of the Eagle Public Library Board. He lives with his wife and five children in Eagle.
