By Idaho GOP Chairwoman Dorothy Moon
You can’t escape it. Every time you turn on the news, there’s another world-shaking headline. Epstein, Venezuela, the Federal Reserve, the price of oil—take your pick. It’s enough to drive anyone mad. Big things are happening across the globe, and they keep us glued to our screens.
Those issues matter. But I want to pull your attention back to the place we all call home. What happens in Idaho rarely makes the evening news. Tucker Carlson isn’t interviewing our state legislators, and your city council members aren’t getting airtime with Greg Gutfeld. That doesn’t make their work any less significant.
In a few short weeks, the Idaho Legislature will gavel in for the 2026 session. They’ll wrestle with public-school policy, immigration, social issues, and—of course—taxes and spending. Right now, state government is spending more than it collects in tax revenue. That’s a real problem, and our lawmakers will have to face it head-on in January.
Before the session begins, Republican Party officers from across Idaho will gather for our 2026 Winter Meeting. This is when the state party debates the ideas we want our legislators to pursue. Resolutions we pass are forwarded to our legislative liaisons, who work with Republican lawmakers to turn them into bills.
Ideas become resolutions, resolutions become bills, and bills become law. At our 2025 Winter Meeting, the Idaho GOP passed resolutions on marijuana penalties, indecent exposure, banning DEI mandates at universities, and election security. Republican legislators picked them up and now they are laws on the books.
Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t make a difference.
Next year our lawmakers will be tackling heavy questions. How can Idaho better enforce immigration law? What should we do with programs like Medicaid Expansion, which now subsidizes healthcare for able-bodied, working-age adults? And what about President Trump’s proposals, such as eliminating taxes on tips—will Idaho adopt that for our state taxes as well?
Your elected officials need to hear from you on these issues and more. Do you know who your representatives and senators are? Do you have their numbers programmed into your phones so you can give them a piece of your mind? If you’re silent, the only voices they’ll hear belong to lobbyists and special interests. I’ve been there, and I can tell you: one thoughtful message from a constituent carries more weight than all the memos from high-powered lobbyists.
Benjamin Franklin said we have a republic if we can keep it. National news may dominate the headlines, but local politics is where the real work gets done. It’s time to step up, get engaged, and do your part to keep our republic.
About Dorothy Moon
Dorothy Moon was elected to serve as the chairwoman of the Idaho Republican Party in July of 2022, and reelected in 2024. Moon served three terms in the Idaho Legislature as State Representative for District 8. Moon’s career in public service has focused on the advancement of individual liberties and reducing the size and scope of government.
