Withdrawals thin the field in Idaho’s legislative races

EDITOR’S NOTE: Originally posted on IdahoEdNews.org on March 10, 2026.

BOISE (IdahoEdNews) — Ten candidates have withdrawn from legislative races as of Tuesday morning. EdNews will update this story as more candidates drop out.

Here’s the list of dropouts so far (east Idaho legislative districts in bold):

• Republican James Spencer, District 6 House Seat A
• Democrat Marissa Wilson, District 11 House Seat A
• Democrat Ariel Olvera, District 14 Senate
• Republican Matt Stallsmith, District 14 House Seat A
• Republican Rep. Codi Galloway, District 15 Senate
• Republican Gary Alfred Butts, District 15 Senate
• Republican Gina Johnson, District 21 House Seat A
• Democrat Brian Stroops, District 23 House Seat B
• Democrat Rosann Mathews, District 28 Senate
• Republican Jeff Thompson, District 33 House Seat B

The withdrawals mean five fewer primary elections in May. There will now be 45 Republican primaries and five Democratic primaries. These incumbents and challengers will no longer have a primary (east Idaho legislative district in bold):

• Rep. Ted Hill, R-Eagle, District 14 House Seat A
• Desi Burbank, Republican, District 15 Senate
• Rep. James Petzke, R-Meridian, District 21 House Seat A
• Joe Fuller, Democrat, District 23 House Seat B
• Mandy Peace, Democrat, District 28 Senate

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