From Georgia to Idaho: Jimmy Carter's unlikely connection to the Gem State

Jimmy Carter died Sunday at age 100. Although the one-term Democratic president was a peanut farmer and Navy veteran from Georgia, his presidency touched Idaho politics — which looked a bit different from today’s political landscape in the Gem State.

During Carter’s run for presidency, he considered one of his primary opponents — then-U.S. senator for Idaho Frank Church — to be his running mate. At the 1976 Democratic National Convention, Church was one of six people being considered by Carter’s team, the Lewiston Tribune reported at the time.

“Frank Church ran a pretty good campaign in the primary,” Jay Shelledy, former editor of the Lewiston Tribune, told the Idaho Press on Monday. “It was a pretty wide-open primary. There were a lot of candidates floating around, but Church got some impressive wins, like Oregon and Nebraska.”

Shelledy said Church's consideration was not a surprise, but the Idaho senator was "no shoe-in." 

Shelledy covered the DNC for the Tribune at the time, writing that Church’s supporters at the convention “mounted a full-bore convention campaign to get him the vice presidency.”

“... although Carter is not likely to be swayed by the partisan floor lobbying,” Shelledy wrote in a July 14, 1976, article.

Carter eventually picked Walter Mondale of Minnesota over Church. Shelledy reported at the time that Church said the elevated national attention would strengthen his position in the Senate.

“It means I can be of greater service to both Idaho and the nation,” Church told the Tribune in a July 18, 1976, article.

After winning the November election, Carter did select then-Idaho Gov. Cecil D. Andrus as the secretary of the interior. 

Andrus said at a 1976 news conference after his nomination, “Exciting things will take place in this administration,” the Associated Press reported.

“I have an opportunity to participate in an administration with a president who truly believes in stewardship of the land,” Andrus said. “The greatest legacy we can leave our children is clean air and our clean water.”

Idaho Democratic Party Chair Lauren Necochea highlighted Carter and Andrus’ friendship in a statement released Sunday.

“Together, they championed conservation efforts that left an enduring legacy, including protecting vast wilderness areas and public lands that Idahoans treasure,” Necochea said in the emailed statement.

“Their partnership exemplified how leadership rooted in trust and shared values can make a profound difference. Beyond his presidency, President Carter’s lifelong dedication to human rights, housing security, and global peace continues to inspire.”

In 1978, Andrus and Carter and their families traveled to the Gem State to float the Middle Fork of the Salmon River for three days. The presidential Middle Fork trip included a flotilla of Secret Service agents, staff and White House reporters and photographers, the Associated Press wrote at the time.

“Carter's raft was equipped with radio communications, and he said there was a communications satellite and Strategic Air Command planes overhead, ready to handle emergency messages from the president,” the AP wrote in an Aug. 23, 1978, article.

Carter told the AP at the time, “It's probably one of the most undisturbed rivers in the nation.”

In 1980, Carter signed the act that designated the area River of No Return Wilderness Area. In 1984, President Ronald Reagan changed the wilderness area's name to Frank Church-River of No Return to honor Church, who died of cancer shortly after the name change. 

Shelledy said he thought the Middle Fork trip was “a publicity stunt, pretty much,” but also a way to familiarize the new president with the West.

“He was a peanut farmer from Georgia and a nuclear submarine expert, so that was probably important that he knew there was an Intermountain West, that it wasn’t just the empty quarter," Shelledy said.

Carter visited Idaho three times in this political career — in 1974, 1976 and 1978, KTVB reported.

The former president also served as the governor of Georgia. As president, he established the departments of education and energy and the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Reagan handily defeated Carter in the 1980 election.

Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, founded the nonprofit Carter Center and volunteered with Habitat for Humanity. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002 for his peace negotiations and campaigning for human rights.  

By Monday morning, Idaho officials had honored the late president.

Idaho Gov. Brad Little, in accordance with U.S. flag code, on Monday ordered flags to be flown at half-staff until Jan. 28.

U.S. Sen. Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, also released a statement recognizing the 39th president.

“President Jimmy Carter lived a life of public service that demonstrated an unquestionable dedication and love of his country,” Crapo said.