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. BOISE (Idaho Statesman) Idahos lieutenant governor opened the front door of her campaign headquarters mid-morning on a Wednesday, the lone occupant at the converted office space neighboring a dry cleaning facility and a pest control company. McGeachin named Margaret Thatcher, the former prime minister of the United Kingdom, and former Republican U.S. Rep. Helen Chenoweth-Hage, of Idaho, as two women she admires. Those who will speak about McGeachins early days in office describe her as friendly, a social butterfly who would host small parties in a rental condo during the legislative session, and go for drinks after work. Idaho Lt. Gov. Excuse me, I really like what youre doing here, he says, to which she thanks him, and chats for a moment. Janice McGeachin speaks during a meet-and-greet campaign fundraiser at a Caldwell-area winery in April. 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. Its just about all women supporting each other, McGeachin said. Janice McGeachin is the first female Lt. One of the bartenders approaches the party of three to enlist use of a cellphone to take photos of the family from behind the bar. A member of the Republican Party, she was previously a member of the Idaho House of Representatives from 2002 until 2012.[5]. McGeachin speech played at conference organized by white nationalist, McGeachin delivers taped speech to white nationalist meeting, McGeachins education task force discusses calls to disband State Board of Education, 'A Very McCarthyism Feel': Idaho Teachers Say Indoctrination Task Force Stokes Fear, Idaho's far-right 'indoctrination' witch hunt comes up short in Boise State investigation, ISBA rep leaves indoctrination task force, decrying 'partisan campaigning', Idaho Lt. Gov. Two weeks before Idahos primary election, McGeachin stepped onto an outdoor stage on a Wednesday evening in front of a crowd of more than 1,000 people gathered at Julius M. Kleiner Memorial Park in Meridian for a rally in her honor. A customer at the end of the bar, from Montana, wants to buy everyone a duck fart.. She entered politics in 2002 when elected to a seat in the state house. 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. Little Says He Hasn't Spoken To Lt. Gov McGeachin In Weeks, Cases of coronavirus in Idaho spike after businesses reopen, Lt. Gov. She said she took a pair of trips, to Trump Tower in New York City and his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida, to explain her role as vice chair of his presidential campaign in Idaho before serving as a delegate at the Republican National Convention in 2016 and 2020. Moderation in pursuit of justice is no virtue. . 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). 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. McGeachin is asking taxpayers to cover $50,000 worth of her legal costs, Boise State Public Radio reported. Their son followed three years later. We will restore health freedom and end the threat of medical tyranny. Members of her initiative claimed, without substantiation, that Idaho schoolchildren were being indoctrinated. After four meetings, the task force delivered a set of vague recommendations. We must actively support those with the courage to resist tyranny. . Without naming McGeachin, Little disavowed her appearance at the conference on social media, saying it was extremely unfortunate anyone in elected office in Idaho must make statements like these., Idaho Lt. Gov. The violence and intimidation tactics came after the family decided last year that their daughter would go without a mask at her school in the Nampa School District during the middle of the pandemic. McGeachin now appears to be following the same political formula that led to Trumps rapid rise, Thompson said, including his defeat of President Joe Biden in Idaho in 2020 by nearly 31 percentage points, despite losing the national election. Since 2016, Beck and his family have donated the second-most money among Idaho residents directly to Trumps campaigns and political action committees, eclipsing $250,000, according to Federal Election Commission records. Once the pandemic plunged local economies and governments into turmoil during a 37-day statewide, stay-at-home order, McGeachin began openly flouting Littles public health rules. McGeachin said she doesnt concern herself with unflattering characterizations, or any of the other things people say about her. | Sarah A. Miller smiller@idahostatesman.com. Ive been pregnant twice. Janice McGeachin (@JaniceMcGeachin) November 8, 2016 McGeachin, 57, was a delegate for Donald Trump during the 2016 Republican National Convention, and vice-chair of Idaho's statewide. | Sarah A. Miller smiller@idahostatesman.com. [45] In a May 2020 editorial, McGeachin wrote that, "I lose sleep at night because the heavy hand of our government is hurting so many Idahoans. We need you, youre a fighter, she said, spurring McGeachin to dash on stage to embrace her booster. [30][31] Committee members discussed proposals to abolish the Idaho State Board of Education. McGeachin and Cawthorn fell on Tuesday. McGeachin was born in southern New Mexico, 35 miles north of the Mexican border, to Allyn and Dorothy Kyes. Janice McGeachin takes a question from an attendee during a meet-and-greet campaign fundraiser at a Caldwell-area winery in April. BOISE (Idaho Statesman) Idaho 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.. She met her husband, Jimmy McGeachin, while she was in high school and he attended college at the University of Idaho, she said. PHOTOS: Lt. Gov. Idaho attorney general won't support it", "Supreme Court rejects Republican attack on Biden victory", McGeachin becomes 7th candidate to file preliminary paperwork for run for governor in 2022, "Donald Trump endorses McGeachin for Idaho governor", Lt. Gov. One more for prosperity.. A political philosophy professor and a former Idaho State Board of Education president also sit on the 14-member assembly. Also in 2020, McGeachin appeared in a video montage, along with other Idaho elected officials, posted to YouTube by the Idaho Freedom Foundation. Another source of inspiration for McGeachin can frequently be found hanging around her neck. Janice McGeachin stands with her husband Jim in front of the Idaho Capitol building prior to taking the podium to announce her run for governor on May 19. Janice McGeachin said Wednesday she was running for governor of Idaho . Isaac Moffett founded the now-defunct Nampa Classical Academy and drew headlines in 2009 when his school sued the state in hopes of using the Bible and other religious texts in his charter schools curriculum. Its in our homes, she said. "[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. Traditionally the officeholder in the bench-warmer spot has waited until the governor chose to end his run, or transitioned to a federal position. Supporters and opponents acknowledge, though, she and her growing persona are anything but, with McGeachin increasingly invoking militarized rhetoric and a blend of patriotism and faith as rival political factions signal an intensifying culture war. The Republican lieutenant governors candidate backed out after debate organizers would not give her an advance list of reporters on the panel. Its perhaps a surprise location from which to mount a run for the states highest office. The federal government has become too restrictive in how we teach our kids, manage health care, build our roads and manage our resources." The unorthodox move was a big part of why she became a passionate McGeachin supporter, and now helps organize some of her campaign events. And Idaho will reduce its financial dependency on the federal government, she said, building to a crescendo. Follow Blake on Twitter @jonesblakej. Idaho Statesman reporters Ian Max Stevenson and Ryan Suppe contributed. I know she liked to have a good time, said Sen. Jim Patrick, R-Twin Falls, who served three terms with McGeachin in the House and used to rent a place on the same floor of a building three blocks from the Capitol. Politics isnt always viewed as a place for girls. 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. Colleagues recognized her as a member of the more conservative wing of the Republican Party, sponsoring anti-abortion bills and stridently opposing the Affordable Care Act, passed under Democratic President Barack Obama. McGeachin lists the First Presbyterian Church of Idaho Falls on her campaign website, but said she hasnt regularly attended the church for a couple years. Sami Edge/Idaho Education News (UPDATED: Oct. 19, reflecting the death of Pete Coulson from COVID-19.) Ryan Spoon, who said hes a West Point graduate and father, expressed worry about critical race theory being taught at U.S. military academies. "[43] By July 2020, after the state's economy had reopened, Idaho saw a spike in coronavirus cases. But, at that time, McGeachin also wasnt known for bucking the rules and norms of government, as shes more closely associated with today. [53][54] By fall 2021, Idaho had among the nation's lowest COVID-19 vaccination rates. Idaho Lt. Gov. Hamilton, however, prefers to keep the focus of McGeachins candidacy on her credentials. "[52], McGeachin has used her office to promote misinformation to disparage COVID-19 vaccines. It didn't last, Republican infighting in Idaho over the coronavirus has reached a new low, Low Turnout For COVID-19 Skeptic Rally Headlined By Idaho Lieutenant Governor, 'Loss of hope': Idaho hospitals crushed by COVID-19 surge, Gov. [6], McGeachin supported Mitt Romney in the 2008 Republican Party presidential primaries[12] and the 2012 Republican Party presidential primaries. Shes a former teacher who staked her campaign, in part, on her objections to Common Core, EastIdahoNews.com reported. Beck, who also has penned several newspaper op-eds defending McGeachin, told the Statesman he backs her because shes honest, transparent and conservative.. Governor Janice McGeachin arrives at a rally to support semi-truckers and protest against COVID-19 vaccination mandates for employment held in Boise in March. We just like to keep our businesses separate from the politics as much as possible, McGeachin said, picking at her fingernails. "[69], In the May 17, 2022 Republican primary election, McGeachin lost to Little. She argued, however, that her actions did not violate the governors restrictions, because her pub also includes a restaurant. The judge found that McGeachin acted "in bad faith" and that "It appears to the court that respondent would stop at nothing, no matter how misguided, to shield public records from the public. His lieutenant governor took power and banned state vaccine mandates. It defines homosexuality as a form of sexual immorality, grouping it with adultery, incest and bestiality. [31] Idaho teachers described McGeachin's committee as a McCarthyist attack on teachers and a distraction from the challenges faced by Idaho's education system in reality. [38] Little also noted that her order duplicated a proposed bill that had failed to pass the state legislature. Janice McGeachin, as Senate president, presides over a session in March. 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. McGeachin was born Janice Kyes on January 18, 1963, in Las Cruces, New Mexico. The departure had nothing to do with his participation on the task force, Moffett told the Idaho State Journal. 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,. So, how much is Janice McGeachin worth at the age of 59 years old? Malkin has promoted anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant rhetoric. 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.