OPINION: Gaining ground in our uphill battle

As Democrats in Idaho, we fight an uphill battle. 

I don’t need to paint the picture for you. Local Democrats need look no farther than the Confederate or FJB flags flying from neighborhoods and pickup trucks to feel we are surrounded by a MAGA mob. 

Often we hear the tired old refrain, “If you don’t fit in here, just move.” This callused remark forgets that many of our families have lived here for generations. This is where our parents, grandparents and great-grandparents built their lives. This is where we raised our kids, and where we have precious memories. 

We aren’t leaving just because an influx of self-proclaimed far-right “political refugees” have recently staked their claim. Democrats live in North Idaho, and we aren’t going anywhere. 

What’s more, despite our surroundings, North Idaho Democrats are gaining ground.  

For the first time in more than 30 years, a highly-qualified Democrat is running in every Legislative district throughout Idaho. 

In North Idaho, the people you can send to Boise include those with experience on numerous state commissions, people who have dedicated their lives to health care or public education, those with generations-deep ties to the community, and others with extensive leadership experience reaching across the aisle. 

While most national news coverage of Coeur d’Alene paints an ugly picture of racism and division, Democrats are working hard to shine a national spotlight toward the remarkable things we are achieving. 

On April 17, Politico published an in-depth piece showing just how much the Democratic message is resonating throughout our state. In just under 1,300 words, this national spotlight highlighted how Democrats are working tirelessly to bring sanity back to Boise. 

We know this is an uphill battle. 

In the article, the GOP scoffs at Democratic efforts. 

“Democrats just can’t win in this state because their ideas don’t resonate with the people,” said Republican state Sen. Brian Lenney, a member of the conservative Idaho Freedom Caucus. “Most of Idaho rejects Democrat ideas because they’re bad ideas and they don’t correspond to reality.”

We disagree. What if Democratic ideas and candidates simply haven’t been an option until now? 

Increasingly Idahoans have had enough of the GOP’s culture war chaos legislation. Throughout this most recent legislative session, the people elected to represent North Idaho were an embarrassment. 

The bills that they pushed centered around cannibalism, prosecuting librarians, putting guns in schools, and the pronouns you are allowed to use.

While over-hyped culture war topics get headlines and grab attention, they don’t reflect the everyday struggles we need our elected leaders to fix.

The cost of housing, for example, in North Idaho is becoming unbearable for many. And yet, our current legislators turn away federal dollars on principle, shifting the burden for public services onto local property taxes. 

We all want a bright future for our children, but Idaho schools are literally falling apart. And yet, for North Idaho legislators, bolstering our public schools takes a backseat to duplicating existing laws about cannibalism — legislation that was spurred by believing that a fake online video presented a real cannibalism problem. 

Our community deserves better.  

I think District 2 Legislative candidate Loree Peery said it best in her contribution to the Politico piece. 

“You can’t win if you don’t run.”

Idaho Democrats are determined to run, and we are gaining ground in this uphill battle. 

To read the full article, visit https://bit.ly/DemsComeback.

To see a list of people running to represent you in Boise, visit https://bit.ly/m/KCDemsCandidates.

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Evan Koch is chairman of Kootenai County Democrats.