Opinion articles provide independent perspectives on key community issues, separate from our newsroom reporting.

Editorials

Here are the Idaho Statesman editorial board endorsements for the November elections

With Election Day almost here, the Idaho Statesman editorial board has been interviewing several candidates in federal, state and local races that will be on the ballot.

We asked federal candidates about such important issues as gun control, the federal budget deficit and the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 2021.

Statewide, we interviewed the candidates for governor, attorney general, lieutenant governor and superintendent of public instruction on a host of issues about public education funding, election integrity and abortion.

Similarly, we asked several legislative candidates about their positions on education funding, school vouchers, gay marriage, property taxes and sales tax on groceries.

We even interviewed all of the candidates for Ada County Commission and asked them about budgeting priorities, how to address homelessness, the decision to appoint Ryan Cole to the Central District Health board, and the development of Expo Idaho and the county fairgrounds.

In all, we interviewed more than two dozen candidates in more than a dozen races, and are weighing in on a constitutional amendment and an advisory vote on the ballot.

Following is a rundown of our endorsements and recommendations. Click on each link to read our full endorsements and reasoning.

Idaho governor

Brad Little

Idaho lieutenant governor

Scott Bedke

Attorney general

Tom Arkoosh

Superintendent of public instruction

Debbie Critchfield

U.S. Senate

David Roth

1st Congressional District

Kaylee Peterson

2nd Congressional District

Mike Simpson

State Senate, District 15

Rick Just

State House, District 15A

Steve Berch

State House, District 15B

Jeff Nafsinger

State Senate, District 16

Ali Rabe

State House, District 16A

Sonia Galaviz

Ada County Commission

Stan Ridgeway

Patricia Nilsson

Senate Joint Resolution 102

Vote “no”

Advisory question

Vote “yes”

Statesman editorials are the unsigned opinion of the Idaho Statesman’s editorial board. Board members are opinion editor Scott McIntosh, opinion writer Bryan Clark, editor Chadd Cripe, newsroom editors Dana Oland and Jim Keyser and community members Johanna Jones and Maryanne Jordan.
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