‘It’s not about the R or D’: In a Boise swing district, Dems want Trump voters’ support
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Idaho Elections 2024
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West Boise’s District 15 is one of Boise’s rare purple legislative districts. Races in the district, which covers a swath of West Boise bordered by East Chinden Boulevard in the north, Idaho 55, I-84, and South Maple Grove Road in the east, are down-to-the-wire affairs, often ending with razor-thin margins.
In 2020 and 2016, two Republicans and one Democrat took the district’s Senate and House seats, with the winners claiming just over 50% of the vote.
To win here, candidates — especially Democrats — must be able to persuade voters across the aisle to vote for them. As of mid-October, nearly half of the district’s voters were registered Republicans, about 20% were Democrats, and about 30% were unaffiliated, according to data recorded by the Secretary of State’s office.
Democrats running in the district told the Idaho Statesman in interviews that doing so means getting personal: speaking with voters, building connections with disenfranchised groups, and persuading right-leaning voters to “vote for the person, not the letter” next to their name.
Six candidates are vying for the legislative district’s three seats.
For House Seat A, three-term Democratic incumbent Steve Berch, 71, faces Republican Annette Tipton, 46, a political newcomer. Berch retired from Hewlett Packard after over 30 years. Tipton is a senior program coordinator at the Office of the State Controller.
For House Seat B, first-term incumbent Republican Dori Healey, 42, faces salon owner Shari Baber, 63, another political newcomer. Healey is a nurse. Baber founded Boise’s Soul Food Festival and a nonprofit for white families who adopt Black children.
For the Senate, a rematch pits incumbent Democrat James “Rick” Just, 75, against Republican Codi Galloway, 46, whom Just narrowly defeated in 2022 after Galloway beat longtime incumbent Fred Martin in the May primary with 53% of the vote. Just is a retired state Parks and Recreation official. Galloway is a small-business owner and former elementary school teacher.
State legislative terms are part-time for two years, and legislators do not have term limits. The Legislature is in session for about three months each year, starting in January. In fiscal year 2024, legislators were paid $19,394, not including per diem allowances, the Idaho Statesman previously reported. In October, a legislative committee met to consider a proposal to increase that pay by over 40%, but delayed the decision until Nov. 6.
GOP’s Annette Tipton aims to replace Steve Berch in House
For Berch, who won his seat by beating incumbent Republican Lynn Luker in 2018 with 55% of the vote, it’s all about door-knocking.
He advertises that he’s knocked on over 40,000 doors and has walked every street of his district multiple times. He posts a “door-knock of the day” on his campaign Facebook page and likes to say he’s talked to “people from all walks of life — from those who live in gated communities to those who live by the railroad tracks.”
In the process, he told the Statesman, he’s been able to persuade some right-leaning voters that, no matter what they may think about the Democratic party outside of Idaho, they should give him their vote.
“I meet a lot of people who moved here very recently, including some people who would call themselves ‘California refugees’ because they really dislike Democratic Party politics in California,” he said. But often, when they “start seeing the kind of laws that Idaho Republican legislators are passing, they’re saying, ‘this isn’t my definition of being a conservative.”
“They’re realizing that not only are all Republicans not alike, neither are all Democrats, and they can’t assume, necessarily, what the letter next to the name stands for,” he added.
Berch, from New York City, focused on strategic planning at Hewlett Packard. It’s an approach he’s tried to bring to the Legislature, where he said he’s concerned by bills that fail to consider long-term consequences. Legislators are often evaluated based on how many bills they write, rather than the quality of those bills, he told the Statesman.
“I wind up voting against a fair number of bills with really good-sounding titles, because they’re not so good when you read past the title,” he said. “When I’m looking at a bill, I reflect not just on what the sponsor tells me this bill does, but ... what are the assumptions that the sponsor made that don’t necessarily apply to everyone? What are the unintended consequences, or scenarios the sponsor didn’t consider?”
Berch was the first Democratic candidate ever elected, or re-elected, by his district. Serving as a member of the House’s minority party, he said he’s felt more free to ask questions about the details of bills being proposed — and that on more than one occasion, Republican colleagues thanked him after the fact.
When he talks to voters about their concerns, he urges them to focus on Idaho-specific issues, rather than the national concerns that dominate social media and the news.
“Some people, when I ask them, ‘What do you want me to focus on?’ they’ll start talking about national politics, like immigration or inflation, and sometimes those conversations will get passionate,” he said. “I tell them, ‘Look, national politics dominates every screen you look at. But the fact is, our daily lives are impacted more at the state level, because we’re closer to the laws that govern us. It doesn’t matter who’s president, you’re not going to get down Eagle Road any faster.’”
He may be onto something. Despite political polarization at the national level, many Democrats and Republicans are aligned on local issues, according to a 2019 study by scholars from Princeton, Stanford and Dartmouth.
Berch is adamant that the state is leaving money on the table by failing to reevaluate the tax breaks it grants and never reviews. That money, he said, could help to fund education, infrastructure and other services.
Tipton, Berch’s opponent, has positioned herself as a tech-savvy, budget-conscious businessperson with small-town Idaho character. The descendant of Mexican immigrants and the daughter of a migrant farmworker, she emphasizes her family values, referring to herself as a “toddler mom.” In one campaign video, she wears a campaign t-shirt modeled after a baseball jersey; in another shot, she’s wearing a t-shirt decorated with characters from Bluey, an animated kids’ TV show.
She lists fiscal responsibility, education and support for law enforcement as her top issues. Her campaign website doesn’t get into specifics, though she advocates for financial transparency, equipping officers “with the resources to do their jobs effectively” and holding “accountable those whose actions are contrary to the principles of our justice system.”
She has received campaign donations from Idaho Chooses Life, an anti-abortion PAC.
Tipton, Healey and Galloway declined to be interviewed for this story.
Tipton has received endorsements from Sen. Mike Crapo, Gov. Brad Little, House Speaker Mike Moyle and the Fraternal Order of Police, according to her campaign website.
Berch has been endorsed by the Professional Firefighters of Idaho, the West Ada and Boise Education Associations, and the Conservation Voters of Idaho, he told the Statesman.
As of Monday, Berch’s campaign had raised over $185,000. Tipton’s had raised just under $40,000.
Democrat Shari Baber wants to oust GOP’s Dori Healey from House
Baber echoes Berch’s sentiments about building a personal connection with voters. She tells the story of one longtime client, a staunch Trump supporter, who told her by text, “I’m still voting for Trump, but I can’t wait to vote for you.”
“What that says to me is ... I’m concerned about laws and policies that govern the people who live in District 15, regardless of your political stance,” Baber told the Statesman. “I want you to talk to me as a human being so I can make a difference in the community that you live in.”
Baber said she’s focused on reaching out to communities that have “felt unheard” in Boise, including a large contingent of African immigrants living in her district. She expressed pride that her candidacy had persuaded some in that community to register to vote for the first time.
“Even though they’re American citizens, they didn’t understand our voting process and what it meant. They didn’t understand the power of being a citizen and being able to participate in our political platform,” she said. “Some … didn’t see themselves in the system.”
Baber acknowledges her troubled past: On her campaign website, she notes that she moved to Boise after battling drug addiction, and she spoke with the Statesman about a spate of financial claims against her for unpaid bills in the late 1990s and early 2000s. In an emotional conversation, she recounted one episode in which she learned she needed emergency surgery but did not have health insurance — so she continued to work at her salon, in pain, until she had raised enough money to put down for the surgery. Ultimately, she said, the rest of her unpaid medical debt was forgiven.
“I was dying … and I was standing behind my chair doing hair,” she said. “These are the things I want to change.”
Other old financial claims against her remain open and active, according to court records. But she said she hopes voters will view her as “the people’s candidate,” who can identify with small-business owners and working-class voters.
“At the end of the day, I think there’s more regular people out there than silver spoons,” she said.
Her opponent, incumbent Rep. Dori Healey, has emphasized her medical knowledge and education as a clinical nurse specialist. On her campaign website, she lists health care as her top issue.
“I believe the relationship between a healthcare professional and patient should not be undermined by other agendas,” her site reads.
During her first term in office, Healey proposed eliminating the expiration date of Idaho’s now-defunct Maternal Mortality Review Committee, which reviewed the deaths of pregnant people and new mothers, aiming to identify mortality trends and prevent future deaths. Her bill stalled in committee after lawmakers and lobbyists questioned the value of Idaho-specific maternal mortality data, and Healey withdrew it, the Statesman previously reported. In 2024, the Legislature passed a separate bill that allowed the Idaho Board of Medicine to collect and report on maternal mortality rates.
Still, her time in the Legislature has given her a “unique perspective” on “both the broader system and individual needs,” as well as the health care-related struggles Idahoans face in rural areas, she wrote in the Statesman’s Voter Guide.
Healey has been endorsed by the Fraternal Order of Police, the Professional Firefighters of Idaho and Ada County Sheriff Matt Clifford, according to her campaign Facebook page. Baber has been endorsed by Idaho State Representative Lauren Necochea, the Idaho State AFL-CIO and the Idaho Education Association, according to her website.
As of Monday, Healey’s campaign had raised about $50,000. Baber’s had raised about $40,000.
GOP’s Codi Galloway challenges Democrat Rick Just for Senate
Just and Galloway focus on education in their race.
Just emphasized his desire to preserve high-quality public education and avoid funding private education through school vouchers. Galloway, a former public school teacher, positioned herself as Idaho’s “education candidate,” though she did not specify policy leanings in her Statesman Voter Guide or on her campaign website.
Just has been endorsed by Conservation Voters for Idaho, the Idaho Democratic Women’s Caucus and Planned Parenthood. Galloway has been endorsed by the Fraternal Order of Police. Galloway has also received campaign donations from Idaho Chooses Life, an anti-abortion PAC.
Far more money is going into this race than into the House races. As of Monday, Galloway’s campaign had raised nearly $100,000. Just’s had raised nearly $150,000.
Just voiced concerns about thousands of dollars of out-of-state spending in his race on attack ads by the American Federation for Children, Texas-based PAC that promotes the use of publicly funded vouchers for private education.
“Ultimately, I think it’s the most important story of the election: outside influence,” he said.
In the final days of his campaign, Just said he was calling people individually who he sensed were “on the fence.”
“Some of those calls, the result will be that they’ll vote for my opponent,” he said. “I get that, but we want to at least have them think it through, rather than just react to a letter behind the name … you (have to) get out and talk to them and tell them that it’s not about the R or the D behind your name. It’s about a person, and what you believe in, what they believe in — let’s talk that through.”
Red and blue Treasure Valley legislative districts
In no other legislative district in the Treasure Valley are the two major parties so competitive. All the districts in Canyon County and western Ada County are solidly red. In most of Boise, they’re solidly blue, although Districts 16 and 17 were closer in the 2022 election than other districts.
In District 16, bordered in the west by Maple Grove Road, in the south by Franklin Road and the Interstate 184 Connector, in the east by 28th Street, and in the north by Hill Road and State Street, Democrats took all three legislative seats by about 20% margins. In District 17, which includes part of West Boise, bordered by South Cloverdale Road in the west, Interstate 84 in the north, West Victory Road in the south and the railroad tracks near South Federal Way in the east, Democrats won by a similar margin.
Idaho’s House includes 59 Republican and 11 Democratic representatives. The state’s Senate included 28 Republicans and seven Democrats.
Berch said he hopes making one-on-one connections will secure votes even from those who see the world differently. He recounted meeting one woman during a difficult door knock:
“I’d say yes, she’d say no; I’d say black, she’d say white … this was going nowhere,” he said. “So finally, at the end of the door knock, I said, ‘well, ma’am, I know we didn’t agree on much, but can I count on your vote this November?’ She said, ‘we didn’t agree on anything. But you have my vote, because you’re the first person that’s ever come to my door to ask me what I care about.’”
This story was originally published October 30, 2024 at 4:00 AM.
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