The Idaho Freedom Index is a product of the Idaho Freedom Foundation. Full details and scores are available at index.idahofreedom.org Request a full digital or physical copy at idahofreedom.org/26index Dist. Chamber Name Freedom Index Spending Index Overall Score 1 Senate James Woodward (R) 45.1% / F 9.4% / F 27.2% / F 1 House, Seat A Mark Sauter […]
Bob Neugebauer welcomes Ron Nate, president of the Idaho Freedom Foundation, to discuss teacher pay, surveillance technology, Republican Party integrity, and the upcoming 2026 primary elections. With Election Day one week away, the conversation turns to several issues that return to a central question: whether Idaho voters will hold candidates accountable to conservative principles or […]
Bob Neugebauer welcomes Ron Nate, president of the Idaho Freedom Foundation, to break down the newly released 2026 Idaho Freedom Index — the annual scorecard rating every legislator and the governor based on how they actually voted, not what they promised. With the legislature adjourned, the full session’s votes have been compiled against 430 rated […]
Bob Neugebauer welcomes Ron Nate, president of the Idaho Freedom Foundation, to examine the bullying tactics Big Dairy is using against conservative legislators and their families during Idaho’s primary election season. Nate reveals that Senator Glenita Zeiderweld’s husband Tom has lost approximately 85% of his fleet services business after dairies pulled their contracts — and […]
Dear Friends, A few weeks ago, the 2026 legislative session wrapped up, and I want to share some of what my office accomplished alongside the Legislature. My role as Attorney General is not to make policy. That belongs to your elected representatives. But when legislators have questions about their legislation, how it might affect my […]
As of 2025, there were approximately 700 registered paid lobbyists in Idaho, consisting of 392 in-state and 300 out-of-state individuals representing more than 650 corporations, businesses, and special interest groups. The Idaho legislative session lasts about three months each year and in the final weeks of every session, there tends to be an unfortunate rush […]
Bob Neugebauer welcomes Ron Nate, president of the Idaho Freedom Foundation, to break down the newly released 2026 Idaho Freedom Index — the annual scorecard rating every legislator and the governor based on how they actually voted, not what they promised. With the legislature adjourned, the full session’s votes have been compiled against 430 rated […]
Letter From the President of the Idaho Freedom Foundation, Ronald Nate IdahoFreedom/org/26index Welcome to the 2026 Idaho Freedom Index! In its 14th year, the Idaho Freedom Index remains the most comprehensive and powerful indicator of how our legislators’ votes reflect the principles of restoring liberty, protecting rights, limiting government, reducing taxes, and honoring the Constitution. […]
Bob Neugebauer and Dylan Stocker take a hard look at Idaho’s 2025 legislative session on The Idaho Pulse, examining how the governor’s post-adjournment veto power undermines bills that passed with strong legislative support. They break down the procedural mechanics — from the constitutional 10-day veto window to Senate committee structures — that give a small […]
Can you believe the 2026 legislative session is already over? It feels like it just got started. Time flies, but a lot happened in those three months. By my count, lawmakers considered more than 800 bills, resolutions, and memorials dealing with a wide range of issues, including water, property rights, education, protecting children, occupational licensing, […]
Bob Neugebauer and Ron Nate, president of the Idaho Freedom Foundation, deliver a final-week breakdown of the 2026 legislative session as it scrambles to adjourn. Nate reports that the $800 million in spending cuts the legislature set out to achieve have been fully consumed — and then some — by agency enhancement requests, pushing the […]
Bob Neugebauer and Ron Nate, president of the Idaho Freedom Foundation, deliver a comprehensive end-of-session breakdown of what’s happening — and not happening — at the Idaho Capitol. Nate opens with a sobering budget update: after the legislature attempted $813 million in spending cuts to bring the 2026 budget into balance, agency enhancement requests have […]