Leadership Matters

Leaders set the tone for the whole endeavor

Tonight, the Republican caucuses in the House and Senate will select their leaders for the 68th Legislative Session. Rep. Mike Moyle is expected to retain his position as Speaker of the House, but the race for President Pro Tempore of the Senate is wide open following Chuck Winder’s defeat in the primary election last May.

Who wins election to this powerful position matters a lot. The pro tem will decide who will chair each committee, which in turn will decide which bills make it to the floor. Sen. Jim Guthrie, currently running for Senate Majority Leader (the number two position behind the pro tem) used his position as chairman of Senate State Affairs the past two years to ensure many good bills never even had a hearing.

Here is how the Republican leadership looked at the end of the 2024 session:

House

• Speaker: Mike Moyle

• Majority Leader: Jason Monks

• Assistant Majority Leader: Sage Dixon

• Caucus Chair: Dustin Manwaring

Senate

• President Pro Tempore: Chuck Winder

• Majority Leader: Kelly Anthon

• Assistant Majority Leader: Abby Lee

• Caucus Chair: Mark Harris

The job of majority leader in both chambers is essentially to run the floor, moving through daily business and shepherding bills through the process. The assistant majority leader assists in this role, filling in when necessary and acting as a liaison between leadership and the caucus. The caucus chair runs meetings of House and Senate Republicans and coordinates communication with members.

On the House side, Rep. Monks took over as majority leader after the caucus removed Megan Blanksma from that position following a behind-the-scenes power struggle. Blanksma was subsequently defeated in her primary by Faye Thompson. I’ve heard nothing to indicate that there is a serious challenge to Monks, but my sources say numerous figures are vying for the assistant majority leader, which was left open when Dixon chose not to run for reelection.

The Senate side is in complete flux. Sen. Anthon is expected to run for pro tem, which opens up the position of majority leader. Sen. Lori Den Hartog challenged Winder for leadership two years ago, so it’s a safe bet she will be in the mix somewhere. Sen. C. Scott Grow, my district’s senator, publicly announced his own run for pro tem mere hours after the ballots were counted last May. Though he hasn’t officially announced it, Sen. Doug Okuniewicz is rumored to be standing for pro tem as well, creating the potential for a three-way race.

Just like the US Senate, the Idaho Senate places a lot of value on tradition. Unlike the House, which uses electronic voting, the Senate still does a roll call vote for each bill and motion. Leadership in the Senate tends to default to seniority, and those who attempt to jump the line can face serious consequences. Chuck Winder rewarded Lori Den Hartog for challenging him for pro tem two years ago by demoting her from her position as chair of the Transportation Committee.

Breaking from this tradition to elevate strong conservatives over senior moderates would go a long way toward reassuring voters that things will be different this time around.

Abby Lee, who served as assistant majority leader in the Senate during the last session, chose not to run for reelection and subsequently took a job in Oregon, so that is yet another position that should see numerous contenders.

Overall, the slate of leaders that will come out of tonight’s elections will look very different than it did last session. With more strong conservatives in the Legislature than anytime in recent memory, this is a chance to put people who are truly committed to cutting government and defending traditional values in places of influence for the next two years. As in any organization, the leaders will set the tone. Will the upcoming session be business as usual, or will constituents actually see the significant conservative reforms they voted for?

Whoever wins the leadership elections tonight will decide who sits on which committees. Last year, the Senate Education Committee was stacked with conservatives, but its counterpart in the House was stacked with moderates, even liberals. That ensured that few good education bills made it through both sides. Speaker Moyle has indicated he will give conservatives more power this year, and whoever since the leadership race in the Senate will determine what happens on that side. Tomorrow’s organizational session will give us a clue as to how the full session will go down.

It starts tonight. Follow me on X for the latest, and I’ll bring you a full recap tomorrow. In the meantime, this is your last chance to contact your senators and representatives and ask them to support conservative leadership.