Boundary County Democrats

Find your caucus location 2024 Presidential Nominating Process IDAHO DEMOCRATS Presidential Caucus The Idaho State Democratic Party will hold a Presidential Caucus to select a presidential preference and elect delegates to the State Convention on Thursday, May 23. The County Caucuses will take place from 5:00 to

Meet the candidates running to represent you in the US Congress and the Idaho State Legislature

Join us at The Pearl Theater, Monday, March 4th, at 6 pm to hear from Kaylee Peterson, Democratic candidate for US Congress, Idaho's First Congressional District; Karen Matthee, candidate for the Idaho House of Representatives - Seat 1A; and Kathryn Larson, candidate for the Idaho House of Representatives - Seat 1B.

Kaylee Peterson is running for US Congress in Idaho's First District. She is a sixth-generation Idahoan with deep roots in Idaho. Her great-great-great grandparents homesteaded in what is now the Eagle foothills. She still lives on that land, on a street named for her great-grandfather. She will be a voice for reason, collaboration, bipartisanship and principled compromise.

Statement from Kaylee:
"I am running for Congress in Idaho’s First District because the incumbent is part of the problem. The incumbent has consistently voted against the interests of Idahoans and for his PAC donors and far-right friends, as demonstrated by his opposition to the American Rescue Plan, which provided resources to address COVID and spur a strong economic recovery; to the Infrastructure Bill, which Idaho Sens. Crapo and Risch supported; and to the Postal Service Reform Act, a badly-needed common-sense bill that puts the USPS on a sound financial footing and ensures continued six-day-a-week mail delivery. At this critical juncture, we must rely on facts, evidence and reasoned compromise, and refuse to be swayed by falsehoods, extremism and the cult of personality. We must act now to change direction or we are in very real danger of losing our freedoms, our voting rights, and our precious democracy."
Kaylee Peterson, Democratic candidate for Idaho's First US Congressional District https://kayleeforcongress.com/

Karen Matthee is a Democratic candidate for the Idaho House of Representatives - Seat 1A
Statement from Karen: "I believe that what makes a good candidate is the ability to listen – listen to what people have to say on both sides of an issue. In that regard, journalism was a good training ground for politics. I received my master of science in journalism from Northwestern University. That was in the good old days when objectivity and balance were essential. As a reporter, I learned that rarely were things good or bad, black or white; there was always an overlap, a gray zone. As a candidate, I hope to listen and learn from all of you and find solutions that allow individuals and our communities to thrive. As your state representative, I will work toward:
Lowering the cost of living
Access to affordable healthcare for all
Fixing or replacing aging school facilities
Karen Matthee, candidate for Idaho House of Representatives - Seat 1A https://www.kmattheeforidaho.com/

Kathryn Larson is a Democratic candidate for the Idaho House of Representatives - Seat 1B
Statement from Kathryn: "I have lived and worked around the globe, advising the top leaders of well-known, common brands. While working with local leaders, I've learned that the people here are every bit as smart and competent as those people running giant companies. As your representative, I will work for:
LOCAL FOCUS - I'll prioritize positive progress here in District 1.
FREEDOM - We ask for freedom and liberty, while our legislature creates layers of rules and restrictions that exert control inappropriately. They put forward bills to appease a vocal minority at the expense of the rest of us. These provide little value, yet lead to costly lawsuits and spawn confusion. You and I - the taxpayers - pay the cost of the lawsuits and ambiguity.
I'll write and support clean, transparent bills that don't put inappropriate decisions into the hands of government or the few.
ECONOMY - Our approach to economic growth and taxes must help our middle class. Current tax cuts, proposed and enacted by our current representatives, are designed to help our wealthiest residents the most. There are ways to craft tax reform that help a larger number of people in more meaningful ways.
As your elected representative in the Idaho Legislature, I'll work to ensure that this economy works for you, regardless of your income."

**BIG NEWS: The False claim that the Quality Education Act initiative will raise everyone's taxes has been exposed and debunked**

Dear supporters of the Quality Education Act,

We have big news to share.

You might have noticed that opponents of the Quality Education Act, led by the Idaho Freedom Foundation, have been claiming that the initiative would raise taxes on all Idahoans and not just those earning over $250,000 a year. The IFF has attempted to back up this claim by referring to an email sent by the Idaho Attorney General.

In a major new investigative report, printed on the front page of today’s Idaho Press, all of these claims are debunked and put to rest.

The report begins with the following lines:

"Widely reported claims that an Idaho education funding initiative actually would raise taxes by $570 million appear to be unfounded, and a drafting error in the initiative’s inflation factor originated in the Idaho Attorney General’s office.

“'We now know it was an inadvertent typographical error that was made by our office in the Certificate of Review,' Chief Deputy Attorney General Brian Kane told the Idaho Press in an email on Thursday. 'The mistake is ours.'”

The Attorney General’s office deserves credit for setting the record straight. Not only has the AG’s office admitted their mistake during the review of our initiative; it appears they’ve also back-pedaled from the email they wrote last month.

In today’s report, the AG’s office agreed with what we’ve been saying all along: Prop 1 can be enacted without raising taxes on any individual earning under $250,000 a year or any married couple earning under $500,000 a year.

As today’s investigative report makes clear, both the AG’s original email and the IFF’s attacks relied heavily on an article by a Washington-DC think tank called the Tax Foundation.

It turns out that the Tax Foundation article was riddled with mistakes.

Today’s Idaho Press report interviews Mike Nugent, who served as the chief bill drafter for the Idaho Legislature for 26 years. Nugent says the Tax Foundation’s claim that our initiative reverses the 2022 tax cuts is completely unfounded.

Why? Because the Tax Foundation’s interpretation ignores procedures of legislative drafting and codification that have been in place in Idaho for decades.

You can click below to read the full report from the Idaho Press:

https://www.idahopress.com/news/local/claims-unfounded-why-school-funding-initiative-wouldnt-have-higher-than-advertised-price-tag/article_19a1992d-ac3a-5c20-8c8b-b64b0b26708f.html

The bottom line: The falsehood that Prop 1 will raise everyone’s taxes has been exposed and debunked.

Truth prevailed today, but don’t be surprised when our opponents continue to push out misinformation. The Idaho Freedom Foundation knows that the people of Idaho want common sense investments that will strengthen K-12 programs and keep more of our teachers in Idaho, and they know that Idahoans are willing to pay for these investments with modest tax increases for corporations and the highest-earners.

Our opponents know that if voters understand the truth about this initiative, Prop 1 will win.

That’s why the IFF is committed to spreading misinformation, and that’s why we must be committed to getting out the truth to as many voters as possible.

Thank you for your ongoing support,

Luke Mayville
Co-Founder, Reclaim Idaho