Locke to lead Idaho Republicans

COEUR d’ALENE — The chief deputy clerk of Kootenai County is now also the chair of the Idaho Republican Party.

Jennifer Locke, of Hayden, the state party’s first vice-chair, assumes the Idaho GOP’s top leadership position following Jonathan Parker’s resignation over the weekend.

Locke will serve in the role until the party’s summer meeting, when a new chair will be elected to complete the remainder of Parker’s two-year term.

She said she hasn’t yet thought about whether she will seek election to the state party leadership position.

“It’s too early,” Locke said. “My main focus now is on a smooth transition and a successful summer meeting.”

In a letter sent Sunday to the Idaho Republican State Central Committee, Parker said he was stepping down so he can focus on being a “fully engaged father” while working full-time.

“Thank you for your understanding and support of my decision to place the priorities of my family first,” Parker wrote. “I trust that you know that it was not one that I arrived at lightly.”

Parker was elected chair of the party in 2017 and re-elected in 2018.

Locke, a 2016 Trump delegate, was appointed Kootenai County chief deputy clerk in January 2017 by Clerk Jim Brannon. She had previously worked with Brannon on the Kootenai County Republican Central Committee.