By Dorothy Moon, IDGOP Chairwoman
February 29, 2024
Are you getting sick of seeing bad faith attacks on the Idaho Republican Party and our upcoming Presidential Caucus? I know I am. It’s quite frankly downright disgusting, and I’m going to call out the bad actors who are behind it.
The power brokers of Idaho’s political establishment took a beating at the state convention in Twin Falls in 2022 and they haven’t recovered. They would rather destroy the party than see it led by myself and our current leadership, who actually listen to the grassroots. The last few weeks they have really ramped up their attacks on the Presidential Caucus because they think if it fails, then I’ll take the blame and they can regain power.
There has been a concerted effort to spread lies, slander, and misinformation about me and the caucus.
They say I unilaterally got rid of the primary. Not true! The Secretary of State proposed a bill that removed the presidential primary, the Legislature passed it, and the Governor signed it.
They say that the Caucus disenfranchises those who cannot attend on Saturday. Not true! The Legislature disenfranchised everyone by removing the presidential primary, and the Caucus re-enfranchised as many Republican voters as possible.
They say that the caucus will be in backyards and barns, with no election security. Not true! The Caucus will be held in 210 locations, primarily churches, schools, and community centers across the state. We have worked hard to make sure your votes are secure and accurately counted with paper ballots, with multiple security features, and hand counted before the entire caucus assembly.
It’s disappointing to see these groups intent on misrepresenting so many facts. They think they’re hurting me, but they’re really hurting the Idaho Republican voters, the grassroots, the salt of the earth folks who care about keeping Idaho a conservative state. It’s unfortunate that these groups have been sending unauthorized and unsigned bulletins and flyers that seem designed to sow division and misinform rather than foster understanding. This intentional misrepresentation only serves to deepen animosity within the party. We encourage those sowing division to strive for clarity and honesty in their discourse, rather than smears and mudslinging as they’ve been doing.
Frankly, this is all unconscionable. It borders on election interference, trying to confuse and disenfranchise voters a second time by spreading misinformation about the Caucus in the hopes that nobody will show up.
Just last week a new mailer went out accusing me of unilaterally disenfranchising veterans. It even purported to be Republican supported by quoting a former Republican legislator. Yet the man behind the mailer is not even a Republican at all, but a newly appointed Democratic representative named Todd Achilles. In addition to being a Democrat, he is also one of the activists behind the ranked choice voting initiative. Talk about wolves in sheep’s clothing!
Remember that this whole situation came about because the Secretary of State, Legislature, and Governor chose to remove the March presidential primary without consulting the party. The Idaho GOP had worked together with the Legislature after the 2012 caucus to create the March primary.
Guess what?! They’re back at it again, pushing a new bill to consolidate the presidential and legislative primary elections in April. Not only would this not solve the problem of making Idaho relevant in the presidential campaigns, it would also seriously impact sitting legislators who will have mere days to run their own campaigns once the session adjourns. This is a compromise that pleases nobody, which we could have told the sponsors had they bothered to ask.
This attempt to sabotage the Caucus will not succeed. Our team has been working hard to make this a great and successful event, as have the thousands of volunteers throughout the state. On Saturday, Republicans will come together to make their voices heard in a spirit of community to support their Presidential nominee.
