Supermajority, super disconnected

By Lauren Necochea

In a representative democracy, The people elect leaders to represent and serve their interests. However, in a familiar pattern, recent polling shows that Idaho voters hold views and priorities light-years away from the GOP supermajority’s agenda. 

The newly released 2025 Idaho Public Policy Survey revealed that home affordability is the top priority for Idahoans. This makes sense, as families face soaring rents and home prices. A few years ago, Idaho Democrats unanimously cast deciding votes to make the first-ever state investment in workforce housing, which a majority of Republican lawmakers opposed. Idaho Democrats consistently champion basic consumer protections to level the playing field for renters in a lopsided market. Meanwhile, Republican leaders have undermined such protections, making it even easier for unscrupulous landlords to use dishonest, unethical and exploitative practices. 

Rep. Lauren Necochea. File photo.

Idahoans are also clear on education. A majority oppose using taxpayer dollars to fund private or religious schools. Yet, the Republican supermajority continues to advance school voucher schemes, proposing three voucher-style bills in the first weeks of the session. Idaho Democrats, by contrast, consistently work to strengthen your neighborhood public school, ensure teachers are paid adequately and give every child in Idaho a great education. 

Nearly half of Idahoans report difficulty accessing health care. Rather than expanding access, Idaho GOP House Speaker Mike Moyle, R-Star, announced his caucus would seek to repeal Medicaid expansion, taking coverage from 85,000 Idahoans. And Republican lawmakers continue to push laws that threaten doctors and nurses with prison for making decisions in the best interest of their patients. 

A key example is the state’s extreme abortion ban, which has caused undeniable harm. Idaho women are being denied critical care to protect their health and future fertility, with some even being airlifted out of state during emergencies.

The new survey shows a majority of Idahoans support expanding access to abortion and broadening exceptions to the current law. Despite this, Republican leaders in the Idaho Statehouse announced their refusal to consider any exemption to the abortion ban to protect health and future fertility, let alone restore our reproductive freedoms. 

How did Idaho’s leaders become so disconnected? The closed Republican primary forces candidates to obey the most extreme voters in their party. Add to that hundreds of thousands of dollars flowing from out-of-state donors to prop up extreme-right candidates. Voters who identify with traditional Republicans have little in common with the far-right candidates who dominate November ballots. This system silences common-sense voices and fails the vast majority of Idahoans. 

To restore balance and accountability in Idaho, we must break from a Legislature where one party holds 85% of the seats. Electing Democrats will give Idaho a more representative government that works for everyday Idahoans, not the extreme fringe.

Lauren Necochea is chair of the Idaho Democratic Party and outgoing District 19 House member in the Idaho Legislature. Necochea spent a decade leading nonprofit programs dedicated to research and advocacy in tax policy, health care and children’s issues.