One far-right faction of the Idaho Legislature decimated by primary results
The gang is no longer all here.
In Tuesday’s Republican primary election, more than half of the members of the Legislature’s so-called “Gang of 8” — a group of hardline conservative lawmakers who oppose new government spending — lost to more-moderate challengers.
- Sen. Glenneda Zuiderveld, R-Twin Falls, lost to challenger Brent Reinke, a current Twin Falls County commissioner and former director of the Idaho Department of Correction, with about 40% of the vote. Reinke had about 60%.
- Rep. Lucas Cayler, R-Nampa, lost to challenger Debbie Geyer with about 47% of the vote compared with her 53%.
- Rep. David Leavitt, R-Twin Falls, had about 45% of the vote compared to challenger Cherie Vollmer’s 55%.
- Rep. Faye Thompson, R-McCall, had just 38% of the vote, compared to challenger Brian Beckley’s 62%.
- Sen. Josh Kohl, R-Twin Falls, lost to challenger Casey Swenson, with just 42% of the vote compared with Swenson’s 58%.
It’s a result that came after a legislative session defined by tight budgets and ideological division among Republicans over how to approach cuts to government spending.
Idaho Republican Party Chairwoman Dorothy Moon did not immediately return a call requesting comment, but Jaclyn Kettler, a Boise State professor of political science, said it’s too soon to say whether those disagreements over budget pushed out these incumbents.
Idahoans have yet to really feel the effect of cuts made in 2026, she said, though it’s possible that voters were frustrated by what some lawmakers have called a slapdash approach to across-the-board cuts. In their campaigns, candidates tended to focus instead on social issues, Kettler said.
She noted that the seats held by the Gang of 8 members had long been competitive, and that it may take time to tease out whether voters were sending a broader message with their rejection of those who lost.
“I think this is something that we’ll continue to be digging into for a little while to more fully understand,” she said.
Money isn’t everything
Many of Tuesday’s legislative races were close, with challengers out-fundraising incumbents.
But money isn’t everything. In North Idaho, moderate Republican Rep. Lori McCann, R-Lewiston, outraised Sen. Dan Foreman by a large margin in a fight for his Senate seat. Foreman won the race with 52.7% of the vote.
Christa Hazel, a volunteer with the North Idaho Republicans — a group that opposes the official Republican Central Committee in Kootenai County — outraised incumbent Rep. Elaine Price, R-Coeur d’Alene, who is a member of the Gang of 8. But Price defeated Hazel with about 60% of the vote.
It was an election that saw new spending tactics scaled up: Sitting lawmaker Rep. Jordan Redman, R-Coeur d’Alene, donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to a political action committee that supported hard-right lawmakers using a type of campaign funding that has no limits. Much of that spending went toward campaign ads that supported the opponents of his current colleagues in the Legislature.
Observers said the pattern of lawmakers he supported — and opposed — suggested that Redman aimed to move the Legislature further to the right.
“It really looks like … there’s a goal here of that political influence to shape — to help ensure the Legislature reflects the ideological or political goals that this (political action committee) would align with,” Kettler told the Statesman.
This story was originally published May 19, 2026 at 10:30 PM.
