Who’s running for Canyon County’s Legislative District 12? Hear from the candidates

Voters in District 12 will have just one contested Legislature race on their ballots in November, with a Republican incumbent facing a Democratic opponent who has been openly critical of his policies.

District 12, which covers a large swath of Nampa south of Interstate 84 and is home to some of the Legislature’s more conservative Republican members, has an uncontested race for Senate and House Seat A. Incumbent Ben Adams will take the Senate seat, and incumbent Jeff Cornilles will take the 12A House position.

Republican incumbent Jaron Crane faces challenger Don Benson for House Seat B. Crane, whose father served as state treasurer and brother is longtime legislator Brent Crane, is running for a second term.

During his freshman term, Crane sponsored a controversial bill allowing people to sue libraries over materials deemed “harmful” to children. It became law in July.

Crane is an outspoken backer of former President Donald Trump, and his campaign website states that he is against abortion, same-sex marriage and mandates related to masks or vaccines. Crane also describes himself as “pro-limited government” and touts lower property taxes as another important issue.

Benson, the Democratic candidate, retired from Micron in 2016 and has written multiple letters to the editor in the Idaho Statesman criticizing Crane’s library bill. Benson’s campaign website said he is running against “the person who has made a short career of targeting our local libraries and librarians.”

Benson’s website also said he wants to protect Idahoans from “fundamentalist extremists” in the Legislature.

In addition to his stance on protecting libraries and librarians, Benson campaigned on protecting the environment, giving women “the right to make their own health decisions” and against school vouchers.

Crane has outraised Benson almost tenfold, pulling in $20,000 to Benson’s $2,500, according to campaign finance reports.

The Statesman sent voter guide questionnaires to each of the candidates in contested races. Responses are below. Crane did not respond.

Learn more about these races and other local elections at the Statesman’s Voter Guide. (Find the legislative district you live in here, and find your polling place here.)

Read all of the candidates’ responses below. Use the horizontal scroll bar underneath each candidate to read the full Q&A. You also can click on the chart and drag horizontally.

This story was originally published October 16, 2024 at 4:00 AM.

Nicole Blanchard

Idaho Statesman

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Nicole Blanchard is part of the Idaho Statesman’s investigative and watchdog reporting teams. She also covers Idaho Outdoors and frequents the trails around Idaho. Nicole grew up in Idaho, graduated from Idaho State University and Northwestern University with a master’s degree in journalism. Support my work with a digital subscription