Skinsuit Republicans

In Idaho’s one-party landscape, the Republican primary has become the only election that truly decides most races. Democrats (or moderates with Democratic-leaning views) increasingly recognize that running as a Democrat in the general election is often futile. Idaho has not elected a Democrat to statewide office since 2002. Republicans hold a supermajority in the Legislature that has persisted for decades, and they dominate both U.S. House seats and the Senate. In many rural districts, no Democrat even files, handing the seat to the GOP nominee by default.

Idaho’s closed Republican primary system means only registered Republicans can vote in it, and the winner almost always sails through the November general election unopposed or against a token opponent. The democratic primary, by contrast, rarely matters outside a handful of urban or college-town districts. Compounding the problem, democrats seem to be on the 20 side of every 80/20 issue. Illegal immigration, voter ID, public safety, the economy and freedom of speech have democrats in the strong negative.

Democrats have reacted in two ways. Registered democrats re-register or file as Republicans to enter the contest. From their perspective this is not a betrayal of their ideology, they are affiliating Republican but not becoming Republican in viewpoint or beliefs. This is cold, calculating electoral math. Winning the GOP primary offers a realistic path to office, influence over policy, and the ability to push liberal democrat policies from inside the tent while hoping a majority of voters don’t notice.

Critics correctly label these candidates “Republican In Name Only” or RINOs, who adopt the Republican label only to win in conservative counties. The accusation highlights the incentive structure: the Republican brand remains electorally dominant, while the Democratic label carries national baggage on issues that many Idaho voters reject outright.

At the same time, the Idaho Democratic Party is pursuing the opposite strategy in 2026. A record 117 democrats filed to run as democrats across all federal, statewide, and legislative races which is more than in any recent cycle and enough to at least one candidate in each of the 35 legislative districts (outpacing Republicans in at least one). Party leaders frame this as long-term party-building: forcing debates, narrowing margins, protesting cuts to progressive socialist programs. Some liberal “Republicans” are encouraged by this development and have switched back to the party that matches their ideology. The fraction of ideological democrats in the Republican Party is surprising large. A 2024 study showed that despite the strong Republican majority, the Idaho Legislature was evenly split between conservative or leans conservative and progressive and leans progressive.

This phenomenon is not unique to Idaho; it appears in other deep-red states where primaries function as de facto general elections. It frustrates purists on both sides: ideological democrats see it as surrender, while conservatives view it as infiltration. Democrats have adopted an “ends justify the means” mentality.

To help clarify the choices and give the voter a more accurate understanding of the candidates, grassroots elements of the Republican Party have been developing vetting systems to ensure candidates wearing the Republican brand are actual Republicans. Since the Republican Platform enumerates the qualities of a Republican, the Platform can be used as a standard to gauge candidates and to make recommendations so that voters who are looking for fidelity to Republican values have the information they need to make an informed choice.

The Kootenai County Republican Central Committee (KCRCC) has been leading the state in vetting, rating and recommending candidate so that the voters are better informed.

It’s just common sense.

Mar. 19th, 2026