Biography and Background
Representative Barbara Ehardt is best known for being the original sponsor and advocate for girls & women with her “Fairness in Women’s Sports Act.” This legislation is designed to protect opportunities for girls & women in sports, exactly as Title IX was designed to do. She has had the unique opportunity of being invited to testify in many of the state legislatures where this legislation has been brought forward. For her efforts, she has received national recognition, including:
• National Legislator of the Year, 2021, by Alliance Defending Freedom
• A—hole (asshole) of the Year, 2021 – along with Tucker Carlson, by OutSports, a pro LGBT magazine
• Idaho’s State Republican Legislator of the Year, 2021
• Pro Life Warrior of the Year – 2023, Idaho’s Right to Life (for her work ushering the 2023 Abortion Trafficking legislation which prevents anyone from taking children to another state without parental consent.
• Recognized for work in passing ESG legislation in Idaho, 2024, by FGA
• Recognized for work in passing the Wrongful Conviction Act to provide compensation for those who wrongfully served prison terms (Chris Tapp), 2021, from the Innocence Project
• Excellence in Conservative Voting – all years, C-PAC
Barbara was born and raised in Idaho Falls, graduating from Idaho Falls High School. She then attended North Idaho Junior College (member of the first team to go to the NJCAA Championships in Senatobia, Mississippi) and Idaho State University on a basketball scholarship. This “love of the game” enabled her to embark on a 15-year college-coaching career that provided many rich and unique experiences. Her coaching career included stops at four outstanding Universities, including: University of California, Santa Barbara; Brigham Young University (Provo); Washington State University; and finally, Cal State Fullerton, where she served as the Head Women’s Basketball Coach.
Barbara has also been a highly sought-after motivational speaker in many arenas but primarily with the youth. These speaking engagements have ranged from State Jr. Miss Pageants to the NCAA Final Four “YES” clinics as well as patriotic flag retiring’s. Finally, she has also been an EFY (Especially for Youth) speaker through BYU.
Top 3 Issues
Issue 1
Protecting traditional family values – this crosses many areas. The assault on our family values by the left is real and it is relentless. Whether it is the redefinition of “mother” or creating new words or pronouns by which one may choose to call themselves, our Judeo-Christian way of life is under attack and must be prioritized in the effort to preserve it.
Issue 2
Religious freedom – our religious freedoms are central to the foundational principles of this nation. This is a Judeo-Christian nation, and we must do all we can to protect these rights, which are systematically tied to our freedom of speech rights also.
Issue 3
Parental Rights – I continue to champion and bring legislation that protects these rights.
Integrity in Affiliation
Submission: Yes
“I have read the Idaho Constitution and the Idaho Republican Party Platform. Except for the provisions specifically noted below, I support the Idaho Republican Party Platform and accept it as the standard by which my performance as a candidate and as an officeholder should be evaluated. I certify that I am not a candidate, officer, delegate or position holder in any party other than the Republican Party.”
I appreciate the opportunity to respond to the Integrity of Affiliation. I spent HOURS reviewing our platform and thus decided to outline some of my thoughts. This was a great exercise for me to really look more deeply into the platform. My thoughts include things on which I agree so a thorough reading of my responses will be required. But again, this was a great opportunity to for me to review the points contained within. I have broken my responses into the Platform categories.
Also, just to be clear, the manner in which I try to prioritize the principles which guide me are listed below. I’m sure I fail miserably, but I do try:
The Lord’s Law
The Constitution of the United States – I pledge to do this!
The Constitution of the State of Idaho – I pledge to do this!
Republican platform
But the first thing I’d like to share are the reasons that I have personally pointed out on radio ads as to WHY I am Republican.
I am a Republican because we:
Believe in and acknowledge God as the Creator of this world and the Father of us, His children.
Believe in the family unit as the base unit and the most important unit of government.
Believe in the Constitution of the United States.
Believe in the sanctity of life.
Believe that our rights come from our God and not from man – when our rights come from the Lord, they are inalienable and do not change. When they come from man, they are negotiable and often are lost.
Believe in the 1st amendment – the right to freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom to peacefully assemble, freedom of the press, freedom of expression, freedom to redress their government, and more.
Believe in the 2nd amendment; the right to bear arms.
Believe in limited government.
Believe in American exceptionalism.
Believe in the rule of law and not anarchy.
Believe in the ingenuity and genius of man – that is unleashed when the shackles of government are dropped.
I am a Republican for these and so many other reasons.
Preamble:
We believe the most effective, reasonable, responsive government is government closet to the people, and the sovereignty of the state must be protected. That government which is best that governs least.
This “we believe” needs clarification. Colleagues continue to misunderstand this in purporting to advocate for the city or local governments being preeminent. This is not the intent of our founders. The people created the State, the State created the Federal Government, and the State created the counties and cities. It’s about the “state.” I believe this should be clarified.
We believe Idahoans value and should preserve our national strength and pride while working to promote peace, freedom and human rights throughout the world.
I actually believe and adhere to the Monroe Doctrine – friendly with all, entangling alliances with none. America is involved in too many foreign affairs. We are not the world’s police, but we are being used as such. We have bankrolled too many nations and in doing so, we are bankrupting ourselves. I agree with Ron Paul on most things. He said we shouldn’t send any money to any country. I thought, well what about Israel? He then responded, if America didn’t fund Israel’s enemy’s, we wouldn’t have to send Israel any money. Interesting concept indeed. I still believe we should stand with Israel, but we cannot continue to be involved in the world’s affairs.
Article I. Responsibility in Government
Section 1. Fiscal Responsibility
D. We believe the unnecessary growth of government has a negative impact on both the conduct of business and our individual lives. We endorse the review of all government programs and encourage their assumption by private enterprise or local government where appropriate and workable. Programs which are not cost effective or have outlives their usefulness should be terminated.
Once again, the nod to local government is made, thus creating the impression that the power Constitutionally rests in “local government” as in cities. This is not the case and is confusing. Also, at this point, I believe the state has proven to be a much better defender of our monies than most local governments.
Section 3. Reform of Congress
Section 4. Sound Currency
I have twice brought legislation to address storing gold & silver in through the Treasurer and the idle monies. This year, though it passed the Senate strongly, it barely passed the House, leading to the Governor’s veto.
Section 5. State Legislature
C. We support reduction of Idaho’s income tax rates and encourage a reduction in property taxes whenever possible.
Property Tax – This does NOT go far enough. I support the complete and total abolishment of the property taxes, at least for the person’s main residence. Property taxes are the most egregious tax there is. As Glenn Beck says, we should listen to what “they” say. If the World Economic Forum is to be believed, we will own nothing and be happy. How do you own nothing? Property tax! I will reveal plans on this as things move along.
F. I’m not sure how I feel about this. I have been voicing my concerns that the Legislative body needs to take back it’s power and oversee redistricting – though there is some question as to whether our State Constitution gave us that authority. Short of that, this should be fine.
Section 6. Honest Elections and the Electoral College
Article II. Citizen Involvement in Government
Article III. Education
B. Religious Freedom in Public Schools – I certainly did my part to strengthen this and return our religious liberties in our schools in 2023 with my “Coach Kennedy’s Law, HB182” patterned after the Supreme Court Ruling in 2022 which ended the “Lemon Test,” an unlawful suppression of our religious freedoms. Now the ability to pray in school, by either a student or a teacher, is allowed!!!
Section 4. Without going through the entire paragraph, I would remove the word “equitable” and replace it with something else. Currently, equity equals Marxism.
Article IV. Agriculture
Article V. Water
Article VI. Natural Resources and Environment
The ESG legislation on which I have worked (as well as the great coalition we formed), since first bringing Glenn Beck to Idaho during the 2022 session, has done a ton to address and protect many of the issues in this section.
Article VII. Energy
The above ESG legislation also helped tons in protecting Idaho’s energy resources.
Article VIII. Idaho National Laboratories
Article IX. Private Property Rights
Again, we need to abolish the egregious property tax!
Article X. State and Federal Lands
Article XI. Wildlife Management
Section 3: We oppose the reintroduction of wolves and grizzlies into Idaho. We support managed control of these predators through the Idaho Fish and Game Department.
I actually do not support the wolves being in Idaho at all. It’s time that we called to have the complete and total abolishment of this predatory animal that hunts and kills for the fun of it. The wolves are populating at a rate that far exceeds that which we were told would happen. Now landowners can’t even access all of their land for fear that a wolf may be around.
Article XII. Economy
ESG once again would apply to parts of this section.
Article XIII. Health and Welfare
Section 3. General Principles for Health Care
D. We support as supreme the authority of parents in all medical decisions for their children, including providers and treatments.
I spent the past year successfully working on a Medical Parental Bill of Rights, SB1329, with Alliance Defending Freedom. This returns all power to the parents, both physical and mental health. This includes doctors, health care providers, psychologists and school councilors who might want to transition our kids. Except now they can’t. Parents now have control of their children until they turn 18 years old.
Article XIV. American Family
Section 1: Governments Role
Section 2: Traditional Marriage
Section 3: Right to Life
My stance on abortion has not changed. I support life. I also support our law which allows for the life of the mother (of course, this is not in question as all life is important), and rape & incest. I support the exceptions of rape and incest for two reasons:
Those who experience rape and incest are also victims. I believe that possibly requiring a 16- or 17-year-old child and an adult might be permissible because they are in a better position age wise to be able to handle the carrying of a child if they have been raped. But if the victims are minors under the age of 16, I do not believe it is the government’s decision to force a child to carry a child. This must be a decision that a family comes to. I do not believe that the government should force this on someone.
I believe that Idaho is in a very delicate position. Every state that has put this issue on the ballot has lost. Idaho needs to solidify this stance and continue to gain the trust of all Idahoans and answer the questions that the “left” and Planned Parenthood have created in claiming that somehow, we are jeopardizing the life of the mothers. We are not. We need to help show that Idaho’s prolife laws do NOT put the health of the mother in jeopardy. Our law will work for families, mothers and babies.
D. See above
Article XV. Older Americans
Article XVI. Law and Order With Justice
Section I: Gun Rights
D. I supported this with my ESG legislation, SB1291.
Section 5: Juvenile Justice
This section seems to be in direct conflict with the GOP position on fentanyl during the 2024 legislative session.
Article XVII. National Defense
Section 6: Command of Forces
We believe American combat troops should not be used as “world policemen.” UN combat operations should be supported by a multi-national coalition, and when U.S. forces are committed in UN combat operations, the United States should retain ultimate command of its forces.
I completely agree and this seems to contradict my understanding of that which is mentioned in the Preamble and which I had responded that I disagreed with. But I agree with this section so maybe the preamble needs some clarification.
Article XVIII. Election of Judges and Idaho Supreme Court Justices
Article XIX. Religious Liberty
Article XX. Inquisition
I have no idea where this is located. I cannot find it. But having experienced it, I will say this, the manner in which it was administered was completely and wholly unfair. I believe that there should be some means by which the GOP can hold people appropriately accountable. But it must be fair and it must be consistent. The manner in which this was administered was not fair nor was it consistent. This process certainly needs to be cleaned up. But, should it be determined that it needs administered, then it needs to be administered by the SAME people! Thus, it would need to be administered by the State GOP. Either we all need to be held to the same standard or don’t hold anyone to any standard, especially where so much rests on the subjective interpretation of those who decide to pursue or not pursue elected officials.
Requiring the administering of the State GOP would also eliminate situations that occurred in District 33 where on January 12, 2024, they tried to quickly meet before the regularly scheduled Bonneville County Republican Central Committee meeting. Only 8 (9) out of 20 Precinct officers showed up. There was no thorough review of any findings such as had taken place in District 32. It was a hallway yes or no kind of vote. There wasn’t even a quorum of the district to be able to hold such a meeting. This was completely wrong, and I ask that this be rectified should the process be retained moving forward. The State GOP must do this for it to be fair.
Also, just to be clear, the manner in which I try to prioritize the principles which guide me are listed below. I’m sure I fail miserably, but I do try:
The Lord’s Law
The Constitution of the United States – I pledge to do this!
The Constitution of the State of Idaho – I pledge to do this!
Republican platform
But the first thing I’d like to share are the reasons that I have personally pointed out on radio ads as to WHY I am Republican.
I am a Republican because we:
Believe in and acknowledge God as the Creator of this world and the Father of us, His children.
Believe in the family unit as the base unit and the most important unit of government.
Believe in the Constitution of the United States.
Believe in the sanctity of life.
Believe that our rights come from our God and not from man – when our rights come from the Lord, they are inalienable and do not change. When they come from man, they are negotiable and often are lost.
Believe in the 1st amendment – the right to freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom to peacefully assemble, freedom of the press, freedom of expression, freedom to redress their government, and more.
Believe in the 2nd amendment; the right to bear arms.
Believe in limited government.
Believe in American exceptionalism.
Believe in the rule of law and not anarchy.
Believe in the ingenuity and genius of man – that is unleashed when the shackles of government are dropped.
I am a Republican for these and so many other reasons.
Preamble:
We believe the most effective, reasonable, responsive government is government closet to the people, and the sovereignty of the state must be protected. That government which is best that governs least.
This “we believe” needs clarification. Colleagues continue to misunderstand this in purporting to advocate for the city or local governments being preeminent. This is not the intent of our founders. The people created the State, the State created the Federal Government, and the State created the counties and cities. It’s about the “state.” I believe this should be clarified.
We believe Idahoans value and should preserve our national strength and pride while working to promote peace, freedom and human rights throughout the world.
I actually believe and adhere to the Monroe Doctrine – friendly with all, entangling alliances with none. America is involved in too many foreign affairs. We are not the world’s police, but we are being used as such. We have bankrolled too many nations and in doing so, we are bankrupting ourselves. I agree with Ron Paul on most things. He said we shouldn’t send any money to any country. I thought, well what about Israel? He then responded, if America didn’t fund Israel’s enemy’s, we wouldn’t have to send Israel any money. Interesting concept indeed. I still believe we should stand with Israel, but we cannot continue to be involved in the world’s affairs.
Article I. Responsibility in Government
Section 1. Fiscal Responsibility
D. We believe the unnecessary growth of government has a negative impact on both the conduct of business and our individual lives. We endorse the review of all government programs and encourage their assumption by private enterprise or local government where appropriate and workable. Programs which are not cost effective or have outlives their usefulness should be terminated.
Once again, the nod to local government is made, thus creating the impression that the power Constitutionally rests in “local government” as in cities. This is not the case and is confusing. Also, at this point, I believe the state has proven to be a much better defender of our monies than most local governments.
Section 3. Reform of Congress
Section 4. Sound Currency
I have twice brought legislation to address storing gold & silver in through the Treasurer and the idle monies. This year, though it passed the Senate strongly, it barely passed the House, leading to the Governor’s veto.
Section 5. State Legislature
C. We support reduction of Idaho’s income tax rates and encourage a reduction in property taxes whenever possible.
Property Tax – This does NOT go far enough. I support the complete and total abolishment of the property taxes, at least for the person’s main residence. Property taxes are the most egregious tax there is. As Glenn Beck says, we should listen to what “they” say. If the World Economic Forum is to be believed, we will own nothing and be happy. How do you own nothing? Property tax! I will reveal plans on this as things move along.
F. I’m not sure how I feel about this. I have been voicing my concerns that the Legislative body needs to take back it’s power and oversee redistricting – though there is some question as to whether our State Constitution gave us that authority. Short of that, this should be fine.
Section 6. Honest Elections and the Electoral College
Article II. Citizen Involvement in Government
Article III. Education
B. Religious Freedom in Public Schools – I certainly did my part to strengthen this and return our religious liberties in our schools in 2023 with my “Coach Kennedy’s Law, HB182” patterned after the Supreme Court Ruling in 2022 which ended the “Lemon Test,” an unlawful suppression of our religious freedoms. Now the ability to pray in school, by either a student or a teacher, is allowed!!!
Section 4. Without going through the entire paragraph, I would remove the word “equitable” and replace it with something else. Currently, equity equals Marxism.
Article IV. Agriculture
Article V. Water
Article VI. Natural Resources and Environment
The ESG legislation on which I have worked (as well as the great coalition we formed), since first bringing Glenn Beck to Idaho during the 2022 session, has done a ton to address and protect many of the issues in this section.
Article VII. Energy
The above ESG legislation also helped tons in protecting Idaho’s energy resources.
Article VIII. Idaho National Laboratories
Article IX. Private Property Rights
Again, we need to abolish the egregious property tax!
Article X. State and Federal Lands
Article XI. Wildlife Management
Section 3: We oppose the reintroduction of wolves and grizzlies into Idaho. We support managed control of these predators through the Idaho Fish and Game Department.
I actually do not support the wolves being in Idaho at all. It’s time that we called to have the complete and total abolishment of this predatory animal that hunts and kills for the fun of it. The wolves are populating at a rate that far exceeds that which we were told would happen. Now landowners can’t even access all of their land for fear that a wolf may be around.
Article XII. Economy
ESG once again would apply to parts of this section.
Article XIII. Health and Welfare
Section 3. General Principles for Health Care
D. We support as supreme the authority of parents in all medical decisions for their children, including providers and treatments.
I spent the past year successfully working on a Medical Parental Bill of Rights, SB1329, with Alliance Defending Freedom. This returns all power to the parents, both physical and mental health. This includes doctors, health care providers, psychologists and school councilors who might want to transition our kids. Except now they can’t. Parents now have control of their children until they turn 18 years old.
Article XIV. American Family
Section 1: Governments Role
Section 2: Traditional Marriage
Section 3: Right to Life
My stance on abortion has not changed. I support life. I also support our law which allows for the life of the mother (of course, this is not in question as all life is important), and rape & incest. I support the exceptions of rape and incest for two reasons:
Those who experience rape and incest are also victims. I believe that possibly requiring a 16- or 17-year-old child and an adult might be permissible because they are in a better position age wise to be able to handle the carrying of a child if they have been raped. But if the victims are minors under the age of 16, I do not believe it is the government’s decision to force a child to carry a child. This must be a decision that a family comes to. I do not believe that the government should force this on someone.
I believe that Idaho is in a very delicate position. Every state that has put this issue on the ballot has lost. Idaho needs to solidify this stance and continue to gain the trust of all Idahoans and answer the questions that the “left” and Planned Parenthood have created in claiming that somehow, we are jeopardizing the life of the mothers. We are not. We need to help show that Idaho’s prolife laws do NOT put the health of the mother in jeopardy. Our law will work for families, mothers and babies.
D. See above
Article XV. Older Americans
Article XVI. Law and Order With Justice
Section I: Gun Rights
D. I supported this with my ESG legislation, SB1291.
Section 5: Juvenile Justice
This section seems to be in direct conflict with the GOP position on fentanyl during the 2024 legislative session.
Article XVII. National Defense
Section 6: Command of Forces
We believe American combat troops should not be used as “world policemen.” UN combat operations should be supported by a multi-national coalition, and when U.S. forces are committed in UN combat operations, the United States should retain ultimate command of its forces.
I completely agree and this seems to contradict my understanding of that which is mentioned in the Preamble and which I had responded that I disagreed with. But I agree with this section so maybe the preamble needs some clarification.
Article XVIII. Election of Judges and Idaho Supreme Court Justices
Article XIX. Religious Liberty
Article XX. Inquisition
I have no idea where this is located. I cannot find it. But having experienced it, I will say this, the manner in which it was administered was completely and wholly unfair. I believe that there should be some means by which the GOP can hold people appropriately accountable. But it must be fair and it must be consistent. The manner in which this was administered was not fair nor was it consistent. This process certainly needs to be cleaned up. But, should it be determined that it needs administered, then it needs to be administered by the SAME people! Thus, it would need to be administered by the State GOP. Either we all need to be held to the same standard or don’t hold anyone to any standard, especially where so much rests on the subjective interpretation of those who decide to pursue or not pursue elected officials.
Requiring the administering of the State GOP would also eliminate situations that occurred in District 33 where on January 12, 2024, they tried to quickly meet before the regularly scheduled Bonneville County Republican Central Committee meeting. Only 8 (9) out of 20 Precinct officers showed up. There was no thorough review of any findings such as had taken place in District 32. It was a hallway yes or no kind of vote. There wasn’t even a quorum of the district to be able to hold such a meeting. This was completely wrong, and I ask that this be rectified should the process be retained moving forward. The State GOP must do this for it to be fair.
