Who’s running for Boise’s Legislative District 18? Hear from the candidates

Voters in District 18 will have only one contested race to vote in, choosing between a six-term Democrat incumbent who prioritizes education and a Republican challenger whose focus is the economy.

Legislative District 18 includes the South Boise, Hillcrest and Barber Park neighborhoods, as well as parts of unincorporated Ada County stretching south of the airport and up to Lucky Peak Lake.

Janie Ward-Engelking and Dan Bridges are vying for a Senate seat that has belonged to Democrat Ward-Engelking since 2014. She previously served one term in the House after she defeated Republican incumbent Julie Ellsworth in 2012.

Bridges challenged Ward-Engelking in 2022 and lost with 33% of the vote.

In this year’s May primary, Bridges received more total votes than Ward-Engelking — 2,200 to her 1,500. Both were unopposed in their primaries. The Idaho Republican primary is closed, meaning only registered Republicans can participate. The Democratic primary is open to unaffiliated voters and members of other parties, though voters can only vote in one primary.

Ward-Engelking has raised about $47,000 — ten times as much money as Bridges.

Bridges, a Republican, is a U.S. Air Force veteran and commercial pilot whose primary focus is jobs and the economy. According to Bridges’ campaign website, he also wants to keep taxes low and protect public lands.

Ward-Engelking is a retired teacher. She has been outspoken on education issues in her previous six legislative terms. This session, she criticized the Legislature’s failure to approve a federally funded program to feed low-income children during the summer. She has also spoken in support of transgender students as Idaho has passed laws restricting their participation in sports and use of preferred pronouns in schools.

Both incumbent House representatives for District 18 — Ilana Rubel in seat A and Brooke Greene in seat B — are Democrats who are unopposed in the general election.

The Statesman sent voter guide questionnaires to each of the candidates in contested races. Their responses are below.

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