Dark Money in Idaho Politics

With campaign season starting, it’s time to look at who spends money in Idaho’s elections. Outside interest groups with national agendas want to drive policy in our state. Never mind that Idahoans don’t want their policy or their meddling. So what do we do?

We start with the simple things. First, don’t assume a name means what it says. A group called Think Liberty Idaho recently popped up. It sounds good, right? But their website remains light on the details. You don’t know anything about the who and the why of the group. You only see the candidates they support. Those candidates share many similarities. They take extreme positions in line with the dictates of far-right interest groups.

Many of these groups are run by a handful of individuals. They keep forming new groups to make it look like a majority supports their positions. Some groups dare to suggest only they get to define who qualifies as a Republican. They hide their names and faces from the public.  

Thanks to our Secretary of State and the requirement that even PACs declare their contributors, we can follow the money. This PAC had a $10,000 contribution in February from SMC Properties. The same SMC Properties that donated $10,000 to Far Right Idaho Freedom PAC, over $80,000 to the Idaho Freedom Caucus PAC, and the maximum $1,000 to far right legislators Scott Herndon, Glenneda Zuiderveld, Brian Lenney, and Julianne Young. SMC Properties and John Heida are intricately tied to the Idaho Freedom Foundation. They use the system to push their extreme agenda and support extreme political views that are turning Idaho into a state many of us don’t even recognize anymore. Be sure to ask your representatives and candidates where their money is coming from. It says a lot about who they are. And if they don’t know, isn’t that even more telling?

I am against extreme politics and divisive rhetoric. Groups like Think Liberty PAC and people like John Heida are borderline evil. My opponent, Julianne Young has accepted thousands from him and his associates. Young should be careful who she associates with.

- Ben Fuhriman