With the 2012 legislative session now wrapped up, the focus turns to the 2012 elections. There will be a number of new faces in the Senate, but not necessarily unfamiliar ones. Ten House members will be attempting to make the switch from the House to the Senate. This year the Senate was dominated by the GOP with a 28-7 margin over the Democrats.
The Idaho Freedom Foundation (IFF) has finalized its Freedom Index for legislators. IFF, a 501(c)(3) organization, is a “non-profit, nonpartison educational and government watchdog” dedicated to “free market solutions, private property rights, individual responsibility and transparent, limited government.”
So, how did those legislators running for Senate fair in the final tally? The index rates bills based on two tiers.
The first tier criteria includes legislation “that creates or eliminates a new agency, program, or function, creates new regulatory burdens or is hostile to constitutional principles.”
The second tier ranking includes legislation “that interacts with the free market or expands or contracts existing government functions (without creating new ones).”
A positive score indicates the lawmaker received a favorable index rating, a negative score pointing to a lawmaker falling short in the two-tier scoring grid.
For the bills given an index score this year, the scale total ranged from +132 to -132 in the Senate. Of the announced candidates for the Senate, Rep. Bob Nonini, R-Coeur d’Alene, scored the highest with a 117 followed by Rep. Cliff Bayer, R-Boise, with a score of 113. Both of those scores were based on the House total range of +179 to -179.
The primary election is May 15, the general election is Nov. 6.
District No. 1
Shawn Keough, R-Sandpoint. Freedom Index score of -38.
District No. 2
Steve Vick, R-Dalton Gardens. Freedom Index score of +51.
District No. 3
Bob Nonini, R-Coeur d’Alene. Nonini will be attempting to change chambers, moving over from the House. He ranked No.1 overall on the index this year with a score of +117 in the House.
District No. 4
John Goedde, R-Coeur d’Alene. Freedom Index score of -16.
District No. 5
Dan Schmidt, D-Moscow. Freedom Index score of -48.
District No. 6
Dan Johnson, R-Lewiston. Freedom Index score of -36.
Jeff Nesset, R-Lewiston. Nesset will be attempting to change chambers, moving over from the House. His Freedom Index score was -39 in the House.
District No. 7
Sheryl Nuxoll, R-Cottonwood. Freedom Index score of +46.
District No. 8
Steven Thayn, R-Emmett. Thayn was in the House this year. His Freedom Index score was +81 in House.
District No. 9
Monty Pearce, R-New Plymouth. Freedom Index score of +65.
District No. 10
Jim Rice, R-Caldwell. Freedom Index score of -9. Rice was appointed by Gov. Butch Otter to fill the term of Sen. John McGee, so his score does not reflect the full session of the Legislature.
District No. 11
Patti Anne Lodge, R-Huston. Freedom Index score of -27.
District No. 12
Robert E. Schaefer, R-Nampa. Freedom Index score of +73 in the House. Schaefer was in the House this year.
District No. 13
Curt McKenzie, R-Nampa. Freedom Index score of +1.
District No. 14
Marv Hagedorn, R-Meridian. Freedom Index score of +67. Hagedorn was in the House this year.
District No. 15
No returning legislators.
District No. 16
Les Bock, D-Garden City. Freedom Index score of -64.
District No. 17
Elliot Werk, D-Boise. Freedom Index score of -55.
District No. 18
Mitch Toryanski, R-Boise, Freedom Index score of -32.
District No. 19
Cherie Buckner-Webb, D-Boise. She was in the House this year. Freedom Index score of -81.
District No. 20
Chuck Winder, R-Boise. Freedom Index score of -29.
District No. 21
Clifford R. Bayer, R-Boise. Freedom Index score of +113. Bayer was in the House this year.
District No. 22
Russell M. Fulcher, R-Meridian. Freedom Index score of +36.
District No. 23
This race pits two incumbents squaring off in the primary due to redistricting, which moved them into the same district.
Bert Brackett, R-Rogerson. Freedom Index score of -31.
Tim Corder, R-Mountain Home. Freedom Index score of -36.
District No. 24
Lee Heider, R-Twin Falls. Freedom Index score of -36.
District No. 25
Jim Patrick, R-Twin Falls. Freedom Index score of +8. Patrick was in the House this year.
District No. 26
Michelle Stennett, D-Ketchum. Freedom Index score of -68.
District No. 27
Dean Cameron, R-Rupert. Freedom Index score of -42.
District No. 28
Jim Guthrie, R-McCammon. Freedom Index score of +4. Guthrie was in the House this year.
District No. 29
Roy Lacey, D-Pocatello. Freedom Index score of -78. He was in the House this year.
District No. 30
Dean Mortimer, R-Idaho Falls. Freedom Index score of -18.
District No. 31
R. Steven Bair, R-Blackfoot. Freedom Index score of -14.
District No. 32
John Tippets, R-Bennington. Freedom Index score of -38.
District No 33
Bart Davis, R-Idaho Falls. Freedom Index score of -26.
District No. 34
Brent Hill, R-Rexburg. Freedom Index score of -29.
District No. 35
Jeff C. Siddoway, R-Terreton. Freedom Index score of +1.
For a complete look the Freedom Index, click here.
Note: IdahoReporter.com is published by the Idaho Freedom Foundation.
