 | |
| Established | 2009 [1] |
|---|---|
| President | Ron Nate |
| Budget | Revenue: $763,312 Expenses: $697,821 (FYE December 2017) [2] |
| Subsidiaries | Idaho Reporter [3] [4] |
| Location | |
| Website | idahofreedom |
| This article is part of a series on |
| Conservatism in the United States |
|---|
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The Idaho Freedom Foundation(IFF) is a conservative and libertarian think tank located in Boise, Idaho. [3] [5] [6] [7] In January 2024 Ron Nate replaced Wayne Hoffman as President of IFF. [8]
IFF was begun in 2009 by Wayne Hoffman, who had been the Canyon County Republican Party vice chairman and spokesman for U.S. Rep. Bill Sali. Formerly, Hoffman was a newspaper reporter for the Idaho Statesman , leaving in 2005, and before that had worked for the South Idaho Press in Burley, the Idaho Press Tribune in Nampa, and a southern Idaho radio station. [1]
The IFF is influential within the Idaho Legislature and the state's broader politics. [9] [10] [11] Politico described the IFF as "an arch-conservative group that has driven challenges to so-called RINO politicians in the state." [12] The IFF's website says it works to defeat "the state’s socialist public policies." Its Freedom Index rates Idaho legislators on their votes. [13]
In 2012, the IFF was one of the chief opponents of an Idaho state legislative bill that would have placed restrictions on tanning bed usage. [14] In 2013 and 2014, IFF put up billboards criticizing Idaho legislators for their votes to implement a state health insurance exchange. [15] [16]
In October 2020, the IFF published a video questioning the existence of the COVID-19 pandemic and decrying governmental measures to combat the spread of the pandemic. Several Idaho Republican elected officials, including Janice McGeachin and a number of state legislators, appeared in the video. [17]
In 2021, the organization criticized Boise State University for holding a "Black Graduation" meant to celebrate Black students in addition to the traditional graduation ceremony. IFF called the event "segregationist." It has urged Idaho lawmakers to cut funding to Boise State. [18]
In a December 2021 opinion editorial published in the Post Register , former Idaho attorney general and former chief justice of the Idaho Supreme Court Jim Jones criticized the IFF, writing "It's time to clean Idaho's House of disruptive lawmakers who worship at the Freedom Foundation altar and ignore their duty to act responsibly in the interests of their voters." [19]
The IFF has mounted various legal challenges to state and city laws and regulations.
The organization has received funding from Donors Trust and Donors Capital Fund, two donor-advised funds which are not required to disclose their donors. IFF is a member of the State Policy Network, a consortium of conservative and libertarian think tanks that focus on state-level policy. [21]
The Idaho Republican Party (IDGOP) is the Idaho state affiliate of the United States Republican Party, headquartered in Boise. It is currently the dominant party in the state, controlling both of Idaho's U.S. House seats, both U.S. Senate seats, the governorship, and has supermajorities in both houses of the state legislature.
Benito 'Ben' T. Ysursa is an American attorney and politician who served as the Secretary of State of Idaho from 2003 to 2015. He is a member of the Republican Party.
Chad Christensen is an American politician, former law enforcement officer, and U.S. Army veteran, who is a former member of the Idaho House of Representatives for the 32nd district, Seat B. He is a Republican.
Sheryl L. Nuxoll is an American politician from the state of Idaho. A Republican, Nuxoll was an Idaho State Senator from 2010 to 2012 representing District 8 and then District 7 from 2012 until 2016, when she lost her bid for renomination in the primary.
The 2012 United States House of Representatives elections in Idaho were held on Tuesday, November 6, 2012, and elected two U.S. representatives, one from each of the state's two congressional districts. The elections coincided with those of other federal and state offices, including a quadrennial presidential election. Candidate filing took place between February 27 and March 9, 2012. Primary elections were held on May 15, 2012.
James Vito Barbieri II is an American politician and lawyer from Idaho. He is a Republican Idaho State Representative since 2010 representing District 3 in the A seat.
Janice Kyes McGeachin is an American far-right politician and businesswoman who served as the 43rd lieutenant governor of Idaho from 2019 to 2023. A member of the Republican Party, she was previously a member of the Idaho House of Representatives from 2002 until 2012.
A general election was held in the U.S. state of Idaho on November 4, 2014. All of Idaho's executive officers are up for election as well as a United States Senate seat, and both of Idaho's two seats in the United States House of Representatives. Primary elections was held on May 20, 2014.
Paulette E. Jordan is an American politician who served in the Idaho House of Representatives as a member of the Idaho Democratic Party from December 1, 2014, until February 14, 2018. She previously served on the Coeur d’Alene Tribal Council, its sovereign government. During her final term she was the only Democrat serving in the Idaho Legislature from North Idaho. She was the Democratic nominee for Governor of Idaho in the 2018 election, losing against Lieutenant Governor Brad Little. She was the Democratic nominee in 2020 for the United States Senate, losing to incumbent Republican Jim Risch.
Cannabis in Idaho is fully illegal for any use, whether recreational or medical. The laws on cannabis prohibition in Idaho are among the most severe in the United States, with possession of even small amounts of it a misdemeanor crime, and no legality of medical marijuana. As of 2018, support for the legalization of medical cannabis is broadly popular in the state, while legalization of the drug recreationally remains a wedge issue. Both the state's legislature as a whole and its governor, Brad Little, remain staunchly opposed to its legalization for medicinal or recreational purposes.
The 2018 Idaho gubernatorial election took place on November 6 to elect the next governor of Idaho. Incumbent Republican governor Butch Otter chose not to run for a fourth term, and the state's primaries were held on May 15.
Mary Souza is an American politician and former nurse who was a Republican member of the Idaho Senate. She was first elected in 2014 to 2022.
A general election was held in the U.S. state of Idaho on November 6, 2018. All of Idaho's executive officers were up for election as well as both of Idaho's two seats in the United States House of Representatives.
Bryan N. Zollinger is an American attorney and politician who served as a member of the Idaho House of Representatives from the 33rd district from 2016 to 2020.
Ronald M. Nate is an American politician and economist who has previously served as a member of the Idaho House of Representatives from the 34th district. He was an economics professor at Brigham Young University–Idaho and is now president of the Idaho Freedom Foundation, a conservative think tank. He is part of the far-right faction of the Idaho Republican Party.
Stephen J. Yates is an American political advisor and government official who last served as the president of Radio Free Asia. He previously served as the deputy national security adviser to the Vice President to Dick Cheney from 2001 to 2005 and chairman of the Idaho Republican Party from 2014 to 2017. He is the CEO of consulting firm, DC International Advisory and has been in that position since 2006.
The 2018 election for Lieutenant Governor of Idaho took place on May 15, 2018. The primary election selected the candidates from each party to run in the November 6, 2018 general election for lieutenant governor of Idaho. Lieutenant governors serve a four-year term or terms. In 2018, the incumbent lieutenant governor, Brad Little, won the Republican nomination for governor and declined to run for re-election in order to run for governor.
2018 Idaho Proposition 2 is an approved ballot initiative that was included on the 2018 General Election ballot on November 6, 2018. Idaho's Proposition 2 is an initiative which addressed the proposed Medicaid gap within the state. This Ballot Initiative was approved and qualified to be included for voting on July 17, 2018, through campaigning and petitioning for signatures to acquire the necessary support of the voting Idaho population to be included for state-wide voting through the 2018 General Election ballot. This initiative moved to expand Medicaid to persons who did not previously qualify. Proposition 2 would expand Medicaid coverage to persons under the age of 65 if their income is below 133% of the Federal Poverty Line (FPL) and are unable to gain medical insurance or coverage through other means.
Dorothy Moon is an American far-right politician who served as a Republican member of Idaho House of Representatives from the 8B district from 2016 to 2022. Moon has been the Chair of Idaho Republican Party since July 2022.
The 2022 Idaho gubernatorial election was held on November 8 to elect the next governor of Idaho. Incumbent Brad Little, first elected in 2018, was re-elected for a second term, the eighth consecutive win by a Republican.
the Idaho Freedom Foundation, a libertarian think-tank
