Sometimes they refer to us as being extreme for our views, McGeachin said, before reading a quote from the late Republican U.S. Sen. Barry Goldwater. Janice McGeachin walks down the front steps of the Idaho State Capitol building, with her husband Jim, prior to taking the podium to announce her run for Governor, Wednesday, May 19,. Other priorities under a McGeachin administration, she said, include seeking the end of the states tax on groceries, opening public lands for mining of rare earth minerals and managing the states growth. Shes no longer shown herself to be the very personable, outgoing, kind lawmaker he knew when she was a member of the state House and the two would occasionally collaborate on bills, he said. The McGeachins had their first child, a daughter, the year after they married. Lt. Gov. She does get national exposure for our state, and, at least in my opinion, it hasnt been to the benefit of the state as a whole.. McGeachin was born Janice Kyes on January 18, 1963, in Las Cruces, New Mexico. During her segment, she listed Americans inalienable rights while seated in the drivers seat of a truck brandishing a Bible, and then a handgun. We still talk, but havent for a while.. After briefly stepping away from dinner, Janice McGeachin returns, but is stopped by an older patron at the bar, who is enjoying his second beer and identifies himself as Skip. This election asks one simple question: Is my Idaho your Idaho? McGeachin said, to loud applause and supporters standing up from the camping chairs they brought from home. Hamilton, however, prefers to keep the focus of McGeachins candidacy on her credentials. Henry said she was also a supporter of the task force McGeachin launched last spring when she thrust herself and the state into the fray of national turmoil over the content taught in public schools. [18] In the voter pamphlet she wrote, she hoped to help the governor "by increasing our freedoms and liberties, free from the bonds of excessive government regulations. Janice McGeachin speaks during a meet-and-greet campaign fundraiser at a Caldwell-area winery in April. "[6][21], In February 2019, McGeachin posted a photo on her Facebook page of her posing in front of her Idaho State Capitol door with two members of the 3 Percenters, an anti-government militia movement group. Brian Myrick / Idaho Press. Jason Knopp is the vice chairman of the Melba School Districts board. I stood with them when Mr. Little sent his law enforcement into their business and threatened to take their license away, she told a crowd at a rally last week in Meridian. Ask Nampa resident Amy Henry, and shell eagerly explain how McGeachins one-day executive order banning masks was overdue, and a game-changer for Idaho schoolchildren. In 2012, she and her family . Janet Adams is a retired Coeur dAlene lawyer. The Republican lieutenant governors candidate backed out after debate organizers would not give her an advance list of reporters on the panel. She also was a member of the Teddy Bears, the schools choreographed drill team, and involved in student council her sophomore year. Shortly after, the McGeachins settle up with a crisp $100 bill, and make their exit. During one of her final pitches to voters, McGeachin closely followed the path laid out before her by right-wing conservatives in the Trump era. Professor Scott Yenor is a professor of political philosophy at Boise State University. [74] She opposes Medicaid expansion and was a leading opponent of 2018 Proposition 2, an initiative to expand Medicaid coverage to about 62,000 Idahoans. Idaho governor and lieutenant governor get into Twitter fight over state's executive orders, Idaho's 4 electors cast votes for Trump and Pence, "Motion For Leave (1) To File Brief Of Lieutenant Governor Janice Mcgeachin, Senator Lora Reinbold, Representative David Eastman, Et Al (Elected State Officials) As Amici Curiae In Support Of Plaintiff, And (2) To Do So In An Unbound Format On 8 12-By-11-Inch Paper, And (3) To Do So Without Ten Days' Advance Notice To The Parties", "Texas wants to overturn millions of votes. McGeachin criticized the governor's coronavirus policies while touting the technology, although a National Institutes of Health study published months earlier determined that the use of "walk-through sanitation gates" was ineffective, possibly dangerous, and violates global health standards. "[34] A civil suit brought against McGeachin by the Idaho Press Club was settled in November 2021, with a court ordered McGeachin to pay the club almost $29,000 in fees and costs. Elaine King previously ran for the Idaho House of Representatives in District 34, which covers the Rexburg area, in 2018, but lost in the Republican primary. She does not cave with pressure, and stands up for what she believes, Hamilton told the Statesman in a phone interview. She was inspired to enter the race to help address the communitys rapid growth, and what she felt was a lack of planning to go with it, McGeachin recalled. Throwing her hat in the ring for governor, McGeachin appealed to Trump for his endorsement over Little. Hamilton, also McGeachins part-time director of communications this past legislative session, said the pendant epitomized her feelings toward the lieutenant governor, and is also a message she hoped her friend would keep close to her heart out on the campaign trail. Idaho Lt. It was an affirmation to me when I won the lieutenant governors race, McGeachin said, before referencing her status as the first woman in the position, and chance of making history again as governor. Because of some of the media attacks Ive had recently, I asked him for some advice, McGeachin recalled. McGeachin also garnered criticism after federal records revealed that she applied for and received more than $314,000 in Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans, even though she previously said she is opposed to government programs that foster dependency. In a social media post, she defended accepting the coronavirus relief payments for her familys businesses, saying that their employees needed the funds because they had been harmed by government shutdowns and other public health requirements. "[52], McGeachin has used her office to promote misinformation to disparage COVID-19 vaccines. It defines homosexuality as a form of sexual immorality, grouping it with adultery, incest and bestiality. She defeated four rivals for the job, receiving 29% of the vote to edge former state GOP chair Steve Yates by fewer than 3,000 votes. [6][74][75] She opposes minimum wages, believing that government should play no role in determining wages. Janice McGeachin Thursday unveiled the membership list of her new "Task Force to Examine . I just wish she was better in presenting herself, said Dr. John Lee, a retired veterinarian who lives in Nampa, while attending the winery fundraiser with family. (VanderSloot and his wife, Belinda, each donated campaign maximums of $5,000 to Little. Janice McGeachins Task Force to Examine Indoctrination in Idaho Education has changed shape slightly since its membership was announced in May as more details have emerged about its members. Were getting to be too much of a centralized government on the federal level and getting away from what I believe our Founding Fathers intent was, McGeachin said, seated in her campaign headquarters office flanked by a framed photo of her firing an assault-style rifle. Online, the church describes its belief that marriage is the exclusive union between one woman and one man. Janice McGeachin launches bid for governor, challenging. Janice McGeachin spoke virtually at an event organized by White nationalist Nick Fuentes in Florida at the end of February.. Dark wood moulding with ornate Celtic inlay pay tribute to the pubs overarching theme, as do a row of soccer scarves and flags from the nations of the United Kingdom hanging overhead. When they passed gay marriage, they opened Pandoras box. [8] As a Republican, she was a member of the Idaho House of Representatives from 2002 to 2012. Those arent the types of invites she gets from her old colleagues anymore. He wondered aloud whether the change is because she no longer feels supported by the state GOP, or because the majority of lawmakers are more in line with Little. Heres what we know about the members so far: Anna Miller, from the Idaho Freedom Foundation, is an active voice in education policy discussions. Assorted $1 bills folded into origami shapes, including hearts and bow ties, decorate the side of a Jameson Irish Whiskey mirror above the bar. She also inquired with the Idaho National Guard about ordering troops to the U.S.-Mexico border that Little was visiting. Sami Edge/Idaho Education News A day after announcing she will run for governor in 2022, Lt. Gov. McGeachin told The New York Times that Trump called her the day after she defended the former president in a June 2021 appearance on Fox News commentator Tucker Carlsons TV show, and she slipped in her intent to challenge Little during the conversation and asked for Trumps support. Each rode the Make America Great Again wave under former President Donald Trump that propelled a number of far-right candidates into office. Beck is not sure how McGeachin made the connection to Trump, he said, but she did it all on her own. "Critical Race Theory (CRT) is a religion of . She protested at rallies, in direct violation of the orders, before showing up to the reopening of a brewpub in North Idaho that defied the governors requirements. [9] Trump endorsed McGeachin's candidacy. Since winning the lieutenant governors office, McGeachin has regularly garnered the spotlight for her combative relationship with Little. Janice McGeachin announces run for Idaho governor, "GOP leaders in Idaho have ties to extremist movement", Idaho healthcare leaders plead for coronavirus mask mandate, Idaho's Anti-Lockdown Lieutenant Governor Has Gone Rogue, "Republican National Convention approaches", "2 more candidates to run for Idaho lieutenant governor", "Janice McGeachin announces Lt. After an onslaught of negative attention tied to the AFPAC event, including calls for her to resign, McGeachin responded by chastising the media a common target of her contempt, including consistent use of the phrase fake news media popularized by Trump. [37] Separately, McGeachin's attorneys billed her almost $17,000 to defend her in the records lawsuit; McGeachin said in 2022 that the public did not pay for these legal fees. In October of 2021, he died of COVID-19. A spokesperson for Little said staff has no record or recollection of Henry contacting the governors office. appears in video slamming virus rules, whether 'a pandemic may or may not be occurring', Idaho Lt. Stationed along the perimeter of the parks amphitheater lawn were members of the right-wing citizen group the Idaho Liberty Dogs, wearing holstered handguns, walkie-talkies and earpieces. McGeachin was born in southern New Mexico, 35 miles north of the Mexican border, to Allyn and Dorothy Kyes. Janice McGeachin is the first female Lt. Following a stint in Arizona, the family moved to Idaho Falls when she was a child after her father took a job at the Idaho National Laboratory, the nuclear energy research hub run by the federal government. Its a daily process, she said. She was elected lieutenant governor in the 2018 election, to serve with the governor, Brad Little. The family who drinks together stays together, right? the bartender says. I stood with them then, and I stand with them today., Lt. Gov. He left the school in 2010 and has worked as a teacher and school administrator since, according to his LinkedIn page. McGeachin attended Skyline High School, home of the Grizzlies, where she followed in her older sisters footsteps and was voted homecoming royalty. Late last week, Idaho Lt. Machele Hamilton, the state GOP vice chair and a close friend to McGeachin, said that approach is one of the qualities she admires most about the lieutenant governor. Henry, who founded a conservative activist group that she calls Parents for Freedom and Liberty, has since gone all-in on McGeachins run for governor. Ryan Spoon, who said hes a West Point graduate and father, expressed worry about critical race theory being taught at U.S. military academies. Educated at the University of Arizona, McGeachin owned several businesses in Idaho Falls. Janice McGeachin takes a question from an attendee during a meet-and-greet campaign fundraiser at a Caldwell-area winery in April. All rights reserved, If you choose local pickup, please get your gift certificate at our office at 400 W. Sunnyside in Idaho Falls Dismiss, defended accepting the coronavirus relief payments, Man charged with murder in Dylan Rounds case, Caught on camera: Moose charges snowmobilers by Palisades, Man allegedly kidnapped woman, held air freshener to her nose and mouth, Giant flying insect found on Walmart building turns out to be Jurassic-era find, Video shows suspect with blood stains as he cleaned gun following Dylan Rounds disappearance, charges say. in finance and accounting from the University of Arizona. Because sin is progressive, right? Brown told the congregation. We can never give up. [70] Little won re-nomination with 52.81% of the vote, with McGeachin receiving 32.24% of the vote, Edward R. Humphreys receiving 10.96% of the vote, and an assortment of minor candidates receiving the rest. In her statement, she challenged news outlets for accusing conservatives of believing everything ever said by anyone with whom they share a stage, adding that she does not support identity politics or other discriminatory views.. Janice McGeachin appeared on Tucker Carlson Tonight to discuss the indoctrination within Idaho's schools in which she speaks about the importance of education in Idaho and the "indoctrination of our young people" that she says has made her the target of the media for her anti-CRT stance. McGeachin said she doesnt concern herself with unflattering characterizations, or any of the other things people say about her. Janice McGeachin, her husband and their two adult children share ownership of The Celt Pub & Grill, an Irish-themed bar and restaurant in downtown Idaho Falls. We just like to keep our businesses separate from the politics as much as possible, McGeachin said, picking at her fingernails. [83], McGeachin was unopposed for the Republican primary[84] and the general election. The men wore shirts promoting Todd Engel, who was sentenced to prison in connection with the Bundy standoff fatal encounter with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF). [72] She concluded her term as lieutenant governor on January 2, 2023. McGeachins push to become Idahos lead executive is her second campaign for statewide office after a narrow margin of victory in 2018s Republican primary for lieutenant governor. [58][52], In October 2021, while Little was out of state touring the Southern border, McGeachin, claiming power as acting governor in Little's absence, issued an executive order banning state officials from requiring proof of vaccination from employees and sought to ban employers from requiring vaccinations altogether. [68] While addressing a crowd of fellow Republicans at a campaign appearance, McGeachin criticized the Boise Police Department and Boise State University for holding a conference to study right-wing extremism, and said of Anthony Fauci (the U.S. government's top infectious disease scientist): "we'll lock him up. McGeachin cited Littles handling of the COVID-19 pandemic for prompting her to run now. Reporter Blake Jones covers the politics and policy of Idaho's K-12 public school system. We will restore health freedom and end the threat of medical tyranny. 3-2-1, he says, tapping the phones touch-screen shutter. FILE . Regardless, McGeachins faithful following has continued to grow. Janice McGeachin (then Kyes), lower right, appears in her sophomore year portrait in the 1979 yearbook for Skyline High School, located in Idaho Falls. I was hoping that he would see the virtue of keeping it in place, she said. McGeachin is asking taxpayers to cover $50,000 worth of her legal costs, Boise State Public Radio reported. Also joining were nationally known special guests freedom fighters, as McGeachin dubs them including former Fox News commentator Michelle Malkin and Arizona state Sen. Wendy Rogers, who each endorse McGeachin. Karen McGee is a former Idaho State Board of Education executive director and president. James Wilson first appeared through internet searches to be a controversial North Idaho evangelist who authored a book applying tenets of warfare to strategic evangelism, but he is not, McGeachins chief of staff Jordan Watters wrote by email May 27. [38] Little also noted that her order duplicated a proposed bill that had failed to pass the state legislature. Janice McGeachin is the lieutenant governor of the State of Idaho. His lieutenant governor took power and banned state vaccine mandates. Janice is a former State Representative and a successful business owner from Idaho Falls who, along with her husband Jim McGeachin, own and operate multiple businesses in the automotive industry, with stores in Idaho Falls and Boise. Idaho is one of 20 U.S. states that has never had a female governor. However, on Monday, a state budget administrator warned McGeachin state law places limitations on the ability to reduce an elected constitutional officer's salary mid-term . poses with protesters in support of standoff prisoner", "McGeachin in statement: 'I wholeheartedly reject bigotry and discrimination', Dangerous Embrace of the Militia Movement, "Marjorie Taylor Greene Speaks At White Nationalist Conference", Idaho Lt. Gov. Wearing a black Stetson, Brown looked out onto the congregation filled with people of all ages and launched into a 40-minute lesson from the Book of Revelation about where to put ones faith, and how to prepare for judgment. Brian Myrick / Idaho Press. [14][15][16][17], In April 2017, McGeachin filed to run for lieutenant governor of Idaho. [82] She won the general election with 73% of the vote against Scott Cannon. . Follow Blake on Twitter @jonesblakej. Idaho Lt. Gov. All three politicos now carry the highly sought-after endorsement of Americas polarizing 45th president. [86][6], Indoctrination task force and public records violations, COVID-19 pandemic and strained relationship with Governor Brad Little, Last edited on 28 February 2023, at 19:27, 2008 Republican Party presidential primaries, 2012 Republican Party presidential primaries, America First Political Action Conference, misinformation to disparage COVID-19 vaccines, nation's lowest COVID-19 vaccination rates, Texas' attempt to overturn the results of the presidential election, "Republican hopes to ride far-right rage into Idaho's governor's office", "Far-right challengers look to upset the status quo in the Idaho governor's primary", "In Idaho governor's race, a far-right candidate leans into extremism", "Representative Janice K. McGeachin's Biography", 5 things to know about Idaho's 1st female lieutenant governor, McGeachin says business experience will help her in lieutenant governor role, Bonneville County Primary Election, May 23, 2000, Lt. Gov. Thats where the battle is going to be, and thats why Im running for governor.. [42] During the pandemic, McGeachin repeatedly criticized Little for taking steps (such as closing physical businesses) to prevent the spread of the disease. [22] In a subsequent statement, McGeachin described the men as "two Second Amendment supporters who were here to support Todd Engel, an Idahoan who was treated unjustly by the court system," and said that she deleted the post after "a few people had begun erroneously assigning sinister motives which are contrary to my true character. She spoke of a rift between her and her daughter, which she attributes in part to critical race theory teachings at her daughters former college in California. But, then again, McGeachin, 59, is a surprise candidate, having emerged from relative anonymity after years away from public office to win the lieutenant governors race four years ago as an underdog. Critics, including State Board President Kurt Liebich say theyve seen little evidence of widespread indoctrination. Liebich doubled down during the task forces second meeting in June, saying he had not seen any evidence of indoctrination in our public education system to date, via a written statement.