FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 2, 2026
Contact:
Sen. Brian Lenney
[email protected]
NAMPA, Idaho – State Sen. Brian Lenney (R-Nampa) announced today he’s running for President Pro Tempore of the Idaho Senate, challenging incumbent Kelly Anthon (R-Burley) when Senate Republicans pick their leadership in December.
“Leadership should change often,” Lenney said. “When the same people hold the keys to the Senate year after year, the lobbyists, bureaucrats, and big-money PACs get too comfortable, and the people get ignored. Follow the money and the endorsements. It’s all right there. Two more years of chairmen holding good Republican bills hostage? No thanks.”
Lenney says the 2026 session proves the point. Republicans brought several bills to fight illegal immigration. The Senate delivered nothing significant, and the cheap-labor lobby that profits off illegal workers cheered. The bill to stop taxpayer support of teachers’ unions should’ve been easy to pass. Instead, it got buried by a Republican chairman who made a backroom deal with the teachers’ unions. So Lenney pulled a last-minute floor maneuver to drag it in front of the full Senate, and it passed.
But the chairman who sat on that bill still has his gavel.
“We had a Republican chairman holding a popular bill hostage and fighting his own party’s agenda,” Lenney said. “Nobody in leadership lifted a finger. The Pro Tem has the power to fix that, and that power has to be used.”
As Pro Tem, Lenney says he’d put the right people in the right spots so good bills get a hearing and a vote, instead of getting stuffed in a drawer.
“I’m America First, and I’m one of the most consistent conservatives in the Senate,” Lenney said. “The governor, the bureaucrats, and the lobbyist class already have plenty of errand boys. The people of Idaho need someone working for them.”
Lenney represents District 13 in Nampa and begins his fifth legislative session in January 2027.
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About Brian Lenney
Brian Lenney represents District 13 and the city of Nampa in the Idaho State Senate. A Nampa resident since 2010, he lives there with his family and enjoys fishing in Idaho’s outdoors. He is also the author of two books: "Why Everyone Needs an AR-15! A Guide for Kids" and "Why is Feminism So Silly? A Guide for Kids".
