Who's running for Idaho's spots in Congress in the primary? Hear from the candidates

Kevin Fixler, Idaho Statesman on May 3, 2026

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Seventeen candidates are vying for three federal seats in Congress from Idaho in contested Republican and Democratic races in the fast-approaching May 19 primary election.

Incumbent U.S. Sen. Jim Risch, R-Idaho, seeks his fourth term for the seat he’s held since 2009. After nearly 48 years in elected public office, Risch, 83, faces three GOP rivals: Joe Evans, 57, of Boise; Denny LaVé, 49, of Worley; and Josh Roy, 44, of Lewiston.

The three challenges are each political newcomers and face long odds at the ballot box to upending Risch, a Boise resident who is a household name in Idaho and a former governor, lieutenant governor and state senator. Risch also holds a dominant election fundraising advantage in the millions of dollars over his fellow GOP candidates.

For the Democrats, three candidates are running for the right to take on the winner of the Republican primary: Nick Bonds, 33, of Post Falls; Brad Moore, 69, of Boise; and David Roth, 45, of Idaho Falls. Roth ran for Senate against Idaho’s other Republican U.S. Sen. Mike Crapo in 2022, and for House against Republican Rep. Mike Simpson in 2024. Bonds and Moore are running for federal office for the first time.

Also running in the Senate race are Matt Loesby, a Libertarian who previously ran in House District 1 in 2024, as are independent candidates Todd Achilles, a former state representative, and Natalie Fleming. Each of the three automatically advances to the November general election because they are not in contested races.

In the U.S. House, Simpson, 75, of Idaho Falls, defends the House District 2 seat that represents East Idaho and part of Boise. He seeks a 15th term for the position he’s held since 1999 as part of 41 years in elected public office. Simpson faces two Republicans in the primary: Brian Keene, 42, of Nampa; and Perry Shumway, 61, of Rexburg.

Democrats Ellie Gilbreath, 63, of Ketchum, and Julie Wiley, 67, of Boise face off to take on Simpson in the general election later this year. Perennial candidate Idaho Law-Carta Sierra for the Constitution Party, Libertarian Will Johanson, and independent candidates Emre Houser and Tripp Charles Hutchinson, who aren’t in contested races, will meet the victors on that ballot in November.

In the U.S. House District 1 race, incumbent Republican Rep. Russ Fulcher, 64, of Meridian, aims to hold onto the seat that represents western and North Idaho and a portion of Ada County. In the office since 2019, he seeks a fifth term after 16 years in elected public office — the past seven-plus in Congress.

Running to unseat Fulcher are GOP candidates Andy Briner, 33, of Parma, and Joseph Morrison, 35, of Boise.

On the Democratic side, Kenneth Brungardt, 71, of Meridian, takes on Kaylee Peterson, 36, of Eagle. Peterson has captured the Democratic nomination in 2022 and 2024 and lost in her bid to beat Fulcher in those general elections. Should she defeat Brungardt, she’ll hope to make the third time the charm against the Republican incumbent.

Constitution Party candidate Brendan Gomez, who ran for the seat in 2024, and independent Sarah Zabel also are in the race and advance to the November general election because their primaries are uncontested.

Read the candidates’ responses in the Idaho Statesman’s primary election guide for the contested Republican and Democratic races. Republicans Risch and Keene and Wiley, a Democrat, did not respond to the Statesman’s questionnaire.