After Ada County GOP upheaval, former leaders aim to reshape Republican politics

BOISE – On election night, former Ada County Republican leaders who resigned en masse last year didn’t attend Idaho Republicans’ official watch party. Instead, they hosted an invite-only gathering for Republican candidates they’d endorsed at Top Golf in Meridian – just a mile from the Idaho GOP’s party at the Courtyard by Marriott – and maxed out their event’s capacity.

The alternative event’s popularity was the culmination of a year’s worth of mobilizing, the former GOP leaders said. When they stepped down, the six Ada County Republican Party’s officers cited decisions by the state party that made it “impossible” to lead effectively, the Idaho Statesman reported at the time. So they quickly formed a political action committee, the Idaho Majority Club, and got to work raising money. By November, they had raised about $215,000.

The club aims to change the tenor of Republican politics in Idaho, its members told the Statesman on election night. When the county party’s leaders resigned from their positions, they complained of “un-Republican” bullying tactics and an overly controlling approach. That included a rule that forced voters previously affiliated with another party to wait a year before registering as a Republican, and one that allowed party committees to censure elected Republicans who strayed from the party line, the Statesman reported.

Leaders of the Idaho Majority Club said they aim to bring more positivity back into Republican politics.

“We are a ‘club,’ and that word was chosen very deliberately because a club is fun,” Bill Baber, the club’s treasurer, told the Statesman.

The club advertises its traditional conservative values. Its founding principles, which were printed on a poster at the watch party, include a “constitutionally grounded worldview with a belief in limited government and the sovereignty of states” and a belief in “the wisdom of the individual voter.”

The group wants the candidates it endorses to hold conservative values, Michael Tomlin, a board member, told the Statesman.

“And we probably use that word differently” than the state or county parties, he said.

“We are not the Republican Party,” Tomlin added.

‘Not exactly a friendly relationship’ with county party

The relationship between the PAC and the county party isn’t clear-cut. Some of the Idaho Majority Club’s leaders remain involved with the county party as precinct captains, and several guests at the invite-only watch party were quick to note they attended both Republican gatherings that evening.

Some said the invite-only event was just a function of logistics. Ada County Sheriff Matt Clifford, who was endorsed by the Idaho Majority Club, told the Statesman he attended the club’s event because of space constraints at the official event’s venue.

“When I heard that they were going to have something here, we jumped on board because I knew that I needed room for my friends, my family and all my co-workers, employees,” Clifford said.

But an Ada County GOP leader acknowledged that he sees the central committee and club as competitors.

“They are Republicans, and every once in a while, our goals align, but not always,” Ada County Republican Party Chair Thad Butterworth said by phone. “It is two different entities, and it’s not exactly a friendly relationship.”

In some ways, the fissures in the state party reflect national divisions in the Republican Party. Dozens of once-loyal and powerful Republicans across the country endorsed a Democrat for president, while a GOP dominated by Donald Trump supporters made gains among voters.

Since Dorothy Moon took over the Idaho Republican Party in 2022, her reign has been greeted with a mixture of excitement from some party die-hards and distaste from other longtime members. What some saw as an exciting embrace of strong stances on divisive cultural issues, others viewed as a hard turn to the far right and a more extreme approach to politics. In the time Moon has been in charge, the party has passed resolutions to ban COVID-19 vaccines in Idaho, institute “anti-Marxist” teachings in schools and refuse to recognize “imaginary” genders.

In response to a question about the dual election night parties, Moon told the Statesman that hers was the real GOP event.

“I’ve got the big guns at this event,” she said. “This is the fun one.”

Idaho party’s far-right shift frustrates some Republicans

Discontent with the current GOP leadership extends to some former statewide party leaders.

Bruce Newcomb, who served as the Republican House speaker for eight years until he retired in 2006, called the party’s move to sanction some of its elected members an “abuse of power” and said the current party leadership represents a small minority. Former Republican Attorney General Jim Jones has also been a vociferous critic.

The Idaho Majority Club was “developed to reach and engage with those who have felt disaffected in this political environment,” member Brandon Pugmire said in a statement.

The group has gained traction with Idaho’s Republican establishment, though some of those leaders attended both election night events. Republican U.S. Sens. Jim Risch and Mike Crapo spoke at the club’s election watch party; Lt. Gov. Scott Bedke, Idaho House Speaker Mike Moyle, R-Star, and Idaho House Majority Leader Jason Monks, R-Meridian, also attended.

In August, Tomlin said, the club paid over $10,000 to host swimmer Riley Gaines at multiple events in Idaho, including a news conference where Gov. Brad Little announced his executive order to ban transgender women from participating in women’s sports.

To Butterworth, the differences between the club and the county party are less ideological than they are about the party’s approach. He sees a split between more traditional Idaho voters, whose priority “seems to be stability and civility,” and newcomers to the state who “want action,” he said.

“It’s not that big of a gap from a standpoint of what we as a Republican Party should be doing. It’s just how we approach it,” he said. “For many of the newer voters, their concern has always been, are we moving the ball forward? We don’t want to be just those Republicans that get to the end of the day and say we raised a bunch of money, and that’s all we did.”

On election night, Republican Party leaders congratulated each other and their supporters at the official watch party – and said they hoped to mend fences with Republicans who “have strayed,” Moon said up on stage at the event.

“You know what? We’re gonna bring ’em back in and say, ‘Don’t ever do it again,’ and rub their heads with our knuckles and say, ‘Come on, puddin’, get back in with the team.’ ”