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AMERICA PROTESTS-IDAHO
Thousands attend vigil at Idaho Statehouse in Boise
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Thousands of people attended a vigil in front of the Idaho Statehouse in Boise to protest the killing of George Floyd in a largely peaceful demonstration. Organizers of the Black Lives Matter Candlelight Vigil on Tuesday evening said the intention was to remember black Americans killed in recent years, many by police. Similar but smaller gatherings took place in other parts of the state, including Ketchum, Hailey, Twin Falls, Sandpoint, Idaho Falls and Rexburg. After the vigil in Boise ended about 10 p.m., tensions rose between protesters and counter-protesters. But police reported no arrests, injuries or damage to property in the area.
LAWMAKER APPOINTED
Governor makes appointment to fill N. Idaho House seat
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Idaho Gov. Brad Little has appointed Aaron von Ehlinger to immediately fill a northern Idaho House seat until November's general election. The Republican governor made the appointment Wednesday, one day after von Ehlinger won the Republican primary for the seat. Von Ehlinger had challenged incumbent Republican Rep. Thyra Stevenson for the seat representing Nez Perce and Lewis counties. But Stevenson died on May 11 following a heart attack. The 6th Legislative District Republican Central Committee then nominated von Ehlinger and two others as potential picks for Little. That makes von Ehlinger the incumbent in the November general election, where he is running unopposed.
ELECTION 2020-IDAHO PRIMARY
Jordan to face Risch in Idaho's U.S. Senate race in November
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — Paulette Jordan won the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate on Tuesday. The former Idaho lawmaker and 2018 gubernatorial nominee will face incumbent Sen. Jim Risch, who ran unopposed in the Republican primary and will be heavily favored in November in conservative Idaho. Risch chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and has been an avid supporter of President Donald Trump. U.S. Reps. Mike Simpson and Russ Fulcher also won their Republican primaries. Simpson is seeking a 12th term while Fulcher is seeking a second. They will be heavily favored in November. Idaho’s 2020 primary became the state’s first mail-in primary due to the coronavirus pandemic.
IDAHO-BALLOT INITIATIVES-LAWSUIT
Judge dismisses case challenging Idaho's initiative process
BOISE, Idaho (AP) — A federal lawsuit challenging Idaho’s ballot initiative process as unconstitutional because it requires signatures from multiple legislative districts has been dismissed. Chief U.S. District Court Judge David C. Nye on Monday ruled that Idaho's ballot initiative process does not violate the Fourteenth Amendment’s equal protection clause involving fairness in voting. The ruling potentially clears the way for lawmakers to make the initiative process much more difficult by expanding the number of legislative districts where signatures must be collected. A 2019 attempt to do so failed when Republican Gov. Brad Little vetoed the legislation amid fears a federal court could dictate the state's initiative process.
ELECTION 2020-THE LATEST
The Latest: Ex-CIA operative Valerie Plame loses N.M. race
Former CIA operative Valerie Plame has lost her race in the Democratic primary for an open seat representing New Mexico in Congress. Attorney Teresa Leger Fernandez overcame six competitors to win her party’s nomination to succeed U.S. Rep. Ben Ray Luján as he runs for the U.S. Senate. Sen. Tom Udall is retiring. In her first run for public office, Plame harnessed her fame as a former U.S. intelligence operative whose secret identity was exposed shorty after her diplomat husband disputed U.S. intelligence used to justify the 2003 Iraq invasion.
ELECTION 2020
Biden moves closer to formally winning Democratic nomination
Joe Biden is on the cusp of formally securing the Democratic presidential nomination after winning hundreds more delegates in primary contests that tested the nation's ability to run elections while balancing a pandemic and sweeping social unrest. Biden could lock down the nomination during next week’s primaries in West Virginia and Georgia. Voters across America on Tuesday were forced to navigate curfews, health concerns and National Guard troops. In some cases, they waited in line hours after polls closed. Biden and President Donald Trump easily swept their respective primary contests that ranged from Maryland to Montana and featured the night’s biggest prize: Pennsylvania.
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