Who’s running in Idaho Legislature’s District 22 primary? Hear from the candidates
The Idaho Senate majority leader will face a challenger, and two hopefuls will vie for a vacated House seat in legislative District 22 in the upcoming GOP primary.
Republican voters in the legislative district, which touches Boise, Meridian and Nampa, will decide between Senate Majority Leader Lori Den Hartog, a six-term senator from Nampa, and Josh Haver, a cybersecurity instructor at Boise State University.
Den Hartog’s father, Rep. John Vander Woude, is retiring after eight terms in the district’s House Seat A. Kelly Walton, a real estate agent, and Greg Ferch, a chiropractor and former state representative, will face off for the GOP nomination for the open seat.
The father-daughter pair served together in the Legislature for 12 years.
A second House seat is uncontested in the GOP primary. That seat now belongs to House Majority Leader Jason Monks, a seven-term Meridian Republican. Monks will face Democratic candidate Amanda Easley in the general election in November.
The winner of the primary race for the Senate seat will face Democratic candidate Karlie Easley, Amanda Easley’s wife.
In House Seat A, either Walton or Ferch will go on to face Democratic candidate Loren Petty.
Ferch, 60, served as a state representative in District 21 for one term before losing to Vander Woude in 2022 following redistricting. He later joined the board of Central District Health, where he is the board chair.
Walton, 69, is a former contractor and former executive director of ACT for America, according to his campaign website. On his website, Walton said members of the nationwide organization are “dedicated to protecting our nation’s security and freedoms,” including by “blocking Islamic Sharia Law from being legally recognized.” The Southern Poverty Law Center has criticized the organization as an anti-Muslim hate group.
Walton did not respond to an email inquiry from the Idaho Statesman asking for his response to the SPLC’s designation.
District 22 spans from South Cole Road west to South McDermott Road, and from East Hubbard Road north to just south of Interstate 84.
Only Republican voters can cast ballots in Idaho’s closed GOP primary. All legislative seats are two-year terms.
The Statesman sent questionnaires to each candidate in a contested race. All candidates but Den Hartog responded, and their responses are presented below, unedited.
To learn more about these and other local races, go to IdahoStatesman.com/Election. Find more candidate Q&As like this in the Statesman’s Voter Guide.
