Terri Pickens Manweiler: Ready to fight

Whoever wins the Republican primary for lieutenant governor should be prepared to bring his or her "A" game against Terri Pickens Manweiler in November.

She's not shying away from the political fight, especially as people choose to stay out of politics because the atmosphere has become so unpleasant.

"I'm a 25-year trial lawyer," Manweiler said during a Friday interview with The Press Editorial Board. "This isn't nasty. It's kid gloves all the way."

Manweiler, the sole Democrat seeking the office currently held by Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin, was a Republican until just a few years ago.

"I felt a little disenfranchised," she said. "I would say that the Republican Party left me in about 2017."

She said the GOP-led Legislature wants to control what people do.

"That's just the exact opposite of the GOP I was born and raised in," said the Idaho native. "It was 'the government stays out of your business.' It just really hit me hard this last couple of years that it's been just the opposite, where now they're trying to jump in and say, 'We want to control everything because it's for your own good.' This isn't the Grand Old Party that I know."

Manweiler said she had some concerns she wouldn't be accepted when she changed party affiliation. She thought she might be met with vitriol.

That turned out not to be the case.

"I haven't had a bad experience yet," said Manweiler, who has been on the campaign trail since August. "People generally feel the same way that I do."

Manweiler hasn't been silent about her thoughts on the state of Idaho's politics. Her blogs explore subjects including health care, public education, decisions regarding the cost of food and the effect of right-wing chaos on business. She received gratitude from business owners for writing about the latter.

"I had many business leaders call me and thank me for writing it. They said, 'You put to words what we were thinking. This is hurting us, but we're too afraid to say it out loud,'" she said. "I watch what's going on around me; I watch how it's impacting normal people, my business, everyone else's business. I watch how it's impacting the people I care about."

To Manweiler, the Republican lieutenant governor race between Rep. Priscilla Giddings, R-White Bird, and House Speaker Scott Bedke, R-Oakley, is a weak one.

"Neither one of them have a favorable approval rating, neither one of them are well known in their other respective corners of their state," she said. "Between the two of them, they're going to have a tough race."

The most favorable outcome for the Republican primary would be if Giddings came out on top, Manweiler said.

"She's pretty far extreme," Manweiler said. "If she is the candidate, it will be very easy to pull the moderate Republicans because they're more afraid of what she can do than what I can do."

She said Giddings is unfit for office, that Giddings disrespects the office she holds and doesn't use her platform for good.

"I genuinely believe we have something we're saving here in Idaho. I don't want to burn the system to the ground like that group of people do. I want to build on what greatness we have already," Manweiler said.

"I love Idaho. I choose to live here. I've been here my whole life. Why would I want to burn this to the ground? It's such a great place. You look at the policies they push for, you look at them trying to defund public education. Why would you want an uneducated population? My goodness. It's like they themselves don't think it through."

Regarding House Speaker Bedke, she said he should be worried about Giddings' fundraising.

"His worry was really indicative when he got (Luke) Malek (of Coeur d'Alene) to drop out," she said. "Whether or not he says it out loud, his actions show that he knows there's going to be a problem for him."

She said Bedke has never really had to run against anyone.

"If somebody did, it was in name only, and there was never really an election that he had to worry about," she said. "He has to worry about me."

Manweiler said compared with Bedke, she's still the more moderate choice, "and the better choice."

"I'm the better choice for a whole host of reasons, but most importantly, integrity is a big one," she said.

Manweiler said Giddings has lost the trust of the public and the people.

"So has Scott Bedke," she said. "He's not terribly respected among a portion of his own party as well."

Courage is also a factor in the race for lieutenant governor.

"When you look at someone like Priscilla Giddings — she and her caucus have taken over the House of Representatives with Speaker Scott Bedke. He had no courage to step up and say, 'Enough is enough,'" she said. "He let them be loud and obnoxious, and then he just, under the table, pushed all their really terrible legislation and let it get to the floor, let them vote on it and he himself voted yes.

"While he may seem like a safe bet for a moderate Republican, he absolutely is not," she continued. "He doesn't have the political courage to stand up to the faction of his own party. Why should voters trust him?"

If Manweiler is elected in November, that means she would most likely serve alongside a Republican governor. She said she's operating under the assumption it will be Gov. Brad Little.

"He's actually quite amenable to work with," she said. "He's actually a statesman. He would invite me to the table. He would give me a seat. If I was the duly elected lieutenant governor, he would treat me as such."

If McGeachin wins, Manweiler said she'd have a hard time showing her respect "if she were doing the crazy things she's doing as lieutenant governor, as governor."

"I gotta believe that Idaho's not going to give me that choice. I gotta believe that normal people are going to take away that option," she said, predicting a Little gubernatorial victory.

Does Manweiler have a shot at winning this election?

"I think I do," she said. "Is it an uphill battle? Absolutely. Am I ready to do it? You bet. I don't like to lose."