'Real' Republicans Win at State GOP Convention
Gem State Conservatives Fail to Take Over The GOP
Kirstin and I were privileged to be delegates to the Idaho Republican State Convention on June 13th-15th. This was our first time to attend and respectively we served on the Rules and Platform Committees. In the Platform Committee, notable absentees were Lt. Governor Bedke and Representative Rod Furniss. Also in the Platform Committee, we lucked out and got Brian Almon of the “Gem State Chronicle” to serve as our Secretary. For a detailed review of the Convention you can go to his Substack account or Website. If you like to listen, you can check out Neal Larson’s podcast on the convention here.
The committee meetings for Credentials, Rules, Platform and Resolutions occur before the General Session. In each committee, there were obvious conflicts between the goals of the grassroots Conservatives and the establishment Republicans/Not Republicans. There was constructive debate in every committee. In most cases, the grassroots teams and their conservative ideals prevailed.
The Credentials Committee decides if county or legislative district delegates were appropriately selected. There were a handful of delegates that were disqualified for not following State GOP rules. The Rules Committee reviews new rules for the State GOP. These Rules will be voted on at the Winter Meeting by the State Central Committee1. The Resolutions Committee develops State GOP policies that hopefully will be presented as bills during the 2025 Legislative session. The Platform Committee addresses proposed changes, additions or deletions from the State GOP Platform. Most of the Platform changes passed in committee and with some debate passed by the entire convention.
The General Session involved debate, some modifications and acceptance of the Committee Reports. Next came the election of new officers. The Gem State Conservatives (GSC) ran candidates for every office and they all lost. Below are your GOP officers for the next two years. Chairman Moon was re-elected with 62.3% of the vote compared to 60% two years ago. All the efforts of the GSC to take over the Idaho GOP failed miserably!
New GOP Officers left to right: Keen, Smith, Moon, Fuller, Purdy, Nate, Bender
Below are the voting results. Officers with an asterisk (*) were re-elected to the same or another officer position. At the end of this post, you will find a letter from Chairman Moon on the Convention.
Conservatives are not fringe extremists, they are the majority due to the efforts of Idaho grassroots Republicans. Here is a link to the Idaho GOP Platform. It hasn’t been updated with changes from the convention, but the Preamble on page 2 has not changed. Please read the Preamble. If you agree with the Preamble, congratulations you are a Republican! If you don’t, then, maybe there is another party waiting for you!
Votes by Candidate and Position
Dorothy Moon* - Chairman - 376 to 228
Mark Fuller* - 1st Vice Chair - 382 to 223
Steve Bender* - Treasurer - 412 to 189
Vicky Purdy - 2nd Vice Chair - 403 to 186
Vicki Keen - National Committeewoman - 396 to 191
Bryan Smith* - National Committeeman - 390 to 200
Maria Nate* - Secretary - 387 to 212
The Republican Grassroots Won by Dorothy Moon, IDGOP Chairwoman
The 2024 Idaho GOP State Convention concluded with a clear mandate, in Coeur d’Alene last weekend, as conservative candidates won every officer race. The convention also adopted a new platform that strengthens our party’s positions on the sanctity of life, constitutional governance, and economic freedom.
A lot of hard work went into making this convention a success. I want to thank the Kootenai County GOP for hosting the event, as well as the staffs of the Coeur d’Alene Resort and North Idaho College for keeping things safe and smooth. I especially must thank the Idaho GOP staff and volunteers for their many days and weeks spent preparing committee packets, name badges, swag bags, and everything else that was necessary.
The convention was a time for party business as well as fellowship with Republicans from throughout the Gem State. It was my honor to be reelected chair, and I am excited to continue the work we began in Twin Falls two years ago. Since that time, we have raised more money, empowered county and legislative district committees, and hosted a caucus that nominated Donald Trump for president.
The resolutions, platform proposals, and elected officers represent a mandate from the grassroots of the Idaho Republican Party. The results show that, despite what you might read in the newspaper or see on TV, and no matter how many deceptive fliers are dropped in mailboxes, there is a conservative movement in Idaho that is only growing stronger. The people have awakened and they have spoken.
I am sure you have already seen the hit pieces — they started churning out even before the cheering had died down in the Schuler Auditorium at NIC. “Extremists have taken over the Idaho GOP,” they say. Well, let me tell you, it is not extremists who are in charge. It is the people. Idaho Republicans want a party that will fight for faith, family, and freedom, and that is what we are doing.
What is so extreme about saying that the government should only spend tax dollars where constitutionally required? What is so extreme about opposing abortion and euthanasia? What is so extreme about protecting children from exploitation?
If you want to find the real extremists, look no further than the opposing party. Abortion on demand until birth, legalized drugs, obscene materials in every library, and spending your last dollar on government programs — that is the real extremism lurking in Idaho. Where are the hit pieces on these radical positions? We all know that the legacy media agrees with them, so they will not tell you how out of touch the other party is with the people of Idaho.
The Idaho Republican Party is stronger than ever and will continue to keep Idaho the best state in the nation.
The State Central Committee is composed of all State GOP elected officers (Chairman, 1st Vice Chair, 2nd Vice Chair, Treasurer, Secretary, National Committeewoman and National Committeeman), 10 Regional Chairmen, and the Chairman, State Committeewoman and State Committeeman from each of the 44 counties.